Diocletian’s Palace- is one of the best-preserved monuments of Roman architecture throughout the world. The Emperor’s Palace was built as a combination of a luxury villa – summer house and a Roman military camp (castrum), divided into four parts with two main streets. Southern part of the Palace was intended for the Emperor’s apartment and appropriate governmental and religious ceremonies, while the north part was for the Imperial guard – the military, servants, storage etc. Over the centuries the Palace inhabitants, and later also the citizens of Split adapted parts of the palace for their own requirements, thus the inside buildings as well as the exterior walls with the towers significantly changed the original appearance, but the outlines of the Imperial Palace are still very visible.
St. Domnius cathedral- Among the European cathedrals the one in Split finds its seat in the oldest building – the Mausoleum of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Inside the cathedral, at the end of the second millennium, the history reconciles ancient pagan, Christian Medieval and modern heritage. Mausoleum of the Emperor – persecutor of Christians becomes a cathedral in the 7th century where altars with relics of St Domnius and St Anastasius, martyrs executed in the nearby Solin, take an honorary place.
The bell tower of the Cathedral (57m) is the most original Dalmatian Medieval architecture dating from the 13th century. The bell tower was thoroughly reconstructed and somewhat altered at the turn of the 20th century. Today you can climb the steps all the way to the top of the bell tower, where a spectacular view of the entire Split awaits you.
Peristyle- as the central square of the Palace, intended for the Emperor Diocletian celebrated as the living son of Jupiter, finds its place among many temples. The Emperor would appear under the architrave of the central part of Protyron, and his subjects would approach him, kneeling down, kissing the hem of his scarlet cloak, or they would fall in front of him, their entire body to the ground.
The red color of the granite columns emphasizes the ceremonial function. Namely, ever since the Emperor Diocletian the color purple became the imperial color.
