Diocletian

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Diocletians Palace
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THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF SPLIT
The origin of Split is the Diocletian Palace
itself, which has been adapted both as a
residential quarter to accommodate local citizens
throughout the centuries, and for some other
civil functions. The first civil residents of the
Palace were the inhabitants of Salona who had
fled from Salona in the early 7th century,
threatened by the invasion of the Slavs. Some of
them found shelter in the imperial palace and
some of them sailed to the nearby islands. The
edifices of the Palace have been constantly
transformed to the new functions the Emperor's
Mausoleum has become the Cathedral, and the
Peristyle, the central part of the Palace, has
become the main public square, the center of
various civil, religious, public and
administrative activities. The new city has been
formed in a unique historical and architectural
setting. During 10th century, the city of Split
began to spill out beyond the Palace walls. First
to the west, and then even farther out from the
Palace. Accordingly, during 12th and 13th
century, the new urban area was twice as large as
its original nucleus.
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THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF SPLIT
The churches have been erected by the country
roads leading to the landowners properties or to
the villages around the city, representing
specific spiritual as well as spatial landmarks
in the environment. There are not only
archeological remains left today, but also
written records, dating from the later centuries.
Some routes, even today, follow the original
Roman territorial division from 1th century B.C.,
and have been maintained as important spatial
elements throughout the centuries. In 14th
century the west suburb was bordered by the new
walls, having protected the city from the Turkish
invasion in 16th and 17th century. The new
defensive system was built around the city,
pursuant to the military strategy of that period.
The mansion houses of the wealthy citizens were
erected in Romanesque and Gothic style in the new
urban zone. At that time some of the churches and
convents were incorporated in the new zone (St.
Mary, St. Spirit). During the time of the
Venetian-Turkish wars, in 16th and 17th century,
the city of Split was encircled by modern
star-shaped bastions, for the purpose of
defending the city. During the period of French
administration in Dalmatia (early 19th century),
certain parts of the bastions were pulled down,
so the city could spread out of its boundaries
towards the new free territory, in the fields
surrounding the city.
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THE GOLDEN GATE
The stages showing how the area along the
northern façade of the Palace was being developed
from 4th to 19th century (made by J.Marasovic)
The northern gate of the Palace (called the
Golden Gate) had been conceived as the main
entrance to the Palace and so it had been
elaborately decorated with statues of the Emperor
Diocletian and his co-regent Maximilian, in the
upper row of the niches, and with sculpture of an
eagle a symbol of Jupiter, between the two.There
were the statues of their two successors to the
throne - caesars Galerius and Constantine - in
the lower row of the niches. This conclusion can
be made on account of the imperial iconography
pattern, effective at the time of tetrarchy (rule
by four persons). On the top of the wall, there
have been four pedestals preserved until the
present day (while there were five of them on the
drawings from
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THE GOLDEN GATE
the 18th century), that could have been used as a
supporting base for statues, but it is unlikely
to believe that the imperial figures would have
been repeated twice on the same façade. So far
there has not been a veritable explanation given
for this double usage. Above the Golden Gate,
there was an Early - Croatian Church of St.
Martin built in the outer walls used by the
sentry, probably in 6th century. This can be
concluded by the patron saints, to whom the other
gates of the imperial Palace had been dedicated
St. Theodore (The Western Gate), St. Apollinaire
(The Eastern Gate) and St. Julian (The Southern
Gate). St. Martin was a patron saint of soldiers,
like St. Theodore, and was worshipped in the
Roman times, particularly in the West, during the
rule of the Emperor Justinian (527-565). The
small church in the corridor has been altered
several times. The present appearance is a
replica of the early Croatian church from 6th
century, with an altar partition in
pre-Romanesque style added in 11th century, which
has been preserved at its original site until the
present day. This peculiarity ranks the small
church of St. Martin among the best preserved
sacral monuments of the ancient world. Today,
this small church is an integral part of the
Benedictine nunnery.
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THE TEMPLE OF JUPITER
There were three temples in Diocletian's Palace,
located in its western section, opposite of the
Emperor's Mausoleum. The main temple is
characterized by the original pantheistic Roman
religious conception illustrated by the figures
of the following gods and goddesses Jupiter (the
chief Roman deity), Hercules (the son of
Jupiter), Sol (the god of Sun), Nike ( the winged
goddess of victory), as well as the figures of
masquerons, giants and fantastic animals carved
on the lintels and on the door - posts of the
main entrance. This temple is among the best
preserved Roman temples in the world, and it is
particularly valuable because of the
well-preserved vaulted ceiling. In the Middle
Ages, this temple was transformed into the
baptistery of St. John, while the crypt under it
was converted into the church of St.
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THE TEMPLE OF JUPITER
Thomas. In 11th and early 12th century, a
bell-tower was erected above the temple, similar
to the one that can be found on the Church of Our
Ladof Bell-tower above the western gate of the
Palace (Iron Gate) even today. There were two
other temples opposite this one, both having a
circular ground-plan. The former one dedicated to
the goddess Cybele, and the latter one to the
goddess Venus. This can be concluded from the
report written by the chancellor Antonius
Proculianus in 1567, in which he described what
he had found or seen and heard from the local
inhabitants of that period. The foundations of
these temples were unearthed during the sixties
while the excavations were being carried out in
order to rehabilitate the buildings constructed
above them in the later periods.
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DIOCLETIAN'S PALACE
Diocletian's Palace is among the best preserved
monuments of the Roman building heritage in the
world. Owing to the research done during 20th
century by an Austrian G. Niemann and by a French
E. Herbrard, based on the previous research done
by an Englishman R. Adam in 18th century, the
original layout of the Palace has been disclosed.
More systematic research and study of the Palace
have been conducted since 1950s.
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DIOCLETIAN'S PALACE
The imperial palace has been constructed as an
appropriate interpolation of various contents of
a luxurious villa - the Emperor's summer
residence into the scheme of a Roman military
camp (castrum), divided into four quarters by two
main streets. There were Emperor's quarters
situated in the southern section of the Palace,
and it was the place where all official and
religious ceremonies took place, while, on the
other hand, the lodgings of the servants,
Emperor's guard and soldiers were situated in the
northern section, where the warehouses and the
workshops were also located. The Palace is a
rectangular building (some 215m by 180 m) , with
four big towers at its corners, with four gates
on each side and four small towers on its walls.
There are no openings on the lower parts of the
walls, while, on the upper parts there is a
monumental porch on the south side, and there are
arcades on the other three sides. During the
following centuries, the residents of the Palace
and the citizens of the city have adapted this
space for their needs, and so both the buildings
within the Palace and the external walls with
towers have greatly changed their original
appearance. The extensions added along the
eastern and the northern wall of the Palace
during the following centuries, were demolished
after the World War 2, so the original appearance
of the Palace was revealed.
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THE CATHEDRAL
Both the civil and the religious heritage of the
ancient Salona have been particularly important
for the historical development of Split since the
very beginning. The refugees from the conquered
and devastated Salona fled from their native town
to take shelter behind the mighty walls of the
imperial Palace, where the organization of urban
life started to develop since the 7th century.
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THE CATHEDRAL
They had worshipped their martyr saints at
Salona, so they transferred their relics to the
new site, upon their arrival. One of those
martyrs, St. Domnio, was chosen to be the patron
saint of the city of Split. The cult of the
Virgin Mary, once worshipped at Salona, has been
followed here, in a new place of residence,
therefore, the local cathedral, previously
Diocletian's Mausoleum, was consecrated to Virgin
Mary very early, probably in 7th century. In the
early Middle Ages, the organization and the
management of each city, and its autonomy were
mainly based on religious heritage. The Church of
Split, owing to the religious heritage of the
Salona diocese and its rights, was promoted into
an Archdiocese during the synods that took place
in Split in 925 and 928
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THE CATHEDRAL
A.D. The Archbishop was John, a son of Tordakat
(Tvrtko?), born, brought up and educated in
Split, whose sarcophagus with carved inscription
is still preserved. The portal of St. Domnio's
cathedral is decorated by the wooden doors,
carved by Andrija Buvina in 1215. Inside the
Cathedral there are the Romanesque pulpit, a
valuable late Gothic sculpture by A.Aleši and an
Early-Renaissance sculpture by George the
Dalmatian, as well as many other valuable Baroque
paintings. Close to the Cathedral there is the
Cathedral Treasury where many relics, religious
books, liturgical garments and other objects have
been displayed.
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SILVER GATE
The Eastern Gate of Diocletian's Palace (so
called Silver Gate) was dedicated to St.
Apollinaire, a saint worshipped all over the
Mediterranean world during the Early Christian
period. The same as there had already been done
above the northern and the western gate of
Diocletian's Palace, the sentry corridor above
this gate was also transformed into the church,
probably in 6th century, so that the patron saint
could protect the entrance to the city by his
supernatural power. The wall structure and the
gate itself were incorporated in the structure of
other edifices in the course of the following
centuries. Such is an example of the Church of
Saints-innocents ("Dusice") which was demolished
during the W.W.2. The stages showing how the area
along the eastern façade of the Palace was being
developed from 4th to 19th century (made by
J.Marasovic) The Silver Gate was reopened in the
early 1950s, after it had been
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SILVER GATE
unearthed to its original level, and restored to
its original appearance. Many additional
structures from the previous centuries, which had
been juxtaposed to the eastern wall of the
Palace, were removed on that occasion. Close to
the Silver Gate, there was another small gate
opened in the late Middle Ages, so called
Venetian Gate. This small gate was used as the
entrance to the city during the period when the
Silver Gate was walled and covered by additional
structures. Opposite the Silver Gate, along the
main city market place, there is the old
Dominican church and monastery, dating from the
first half of 17th century, which were
constructed on the site of the previous ancient
structures. At the turn of 19th century, the
church was enlarged. Its actual appearance was
contrived in the early thirties. To the east of
the Silver Gate, there is the city quarter Lucac,
which used to be in the outskirts of the city,
but it is wholly integrated with the city core
nowadays.
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LAZARETTOS
In the late 16th century, when the political,
military and economic relations between Venice
and Turkish Empire were relatively tranquil,
Split became an important center of transitional
trade with oriental hinterland. In 1581, on the
initiative of a renowned Spanish Jew merchant
Daniel Rodrigo, and having been authorised by the
government of the Venetian Republic, the
construction of the first lazaretto was started,
close to the southeastern tower of Diocletian's
Palace. It was a complex of buildings containing
warehouses for different merchandise, customs
office, bank, and the quarantine where people and
the merchandise that arrived to Split from
various destinations where kept in isolation .
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LAZARETTOS
t that time, city harbour had already had a
well- constructed pier that could moor a
considerable number of in-coming ships. The most
important factor of economic development of Split
had been intensive trade with the Orient.
Therefore, in the very beginning of 17th century,
owing to the further expansion and the efficiency
of trade business, the lazaretto complex was
enlarged and extended on two occassions, and,
thus, the Split Lazaretto became the largest one
on the Mediterranean coast. However, due to the
War of Candia (1645 - 1649), the lively trade was
stopped. Then the Morean War (1684 - 1699) soon
followed and, consequently, trade business in
Split returned to rather modest economic range.
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THE BASEMENT HALLS
The ground - floor halls and the corridors of
Diocletian's Palace (more commonly called the
Basement), which can be reached either by a gate
leading from the water-front or by the steps
leading from Peristyle, the central square of the
Palace, were originally the supporting
substructure of the Emperor's residential
quarters, and, consequently, they reflect the
layout of the upper floor. In fact, the layout of
the basement halls is an identical projection of
the upper-floor halls. The basement substructure
enabled the elevation of the Emperor's Palace
above the sea level, so the big porch of the
southern façade could be adequately exposed to
the sun and summer breeze. The whole space of the
substructure has not been changed throughout the
past centuries only few interventions have been
virtually made there, e.g some partition walls
were either erected or pulled down.
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THE BASEMENT HALLS
The basement halls were used for various
practical purposes, so the press, probably used
either for grapes or olives, dating back to the
early Middle Ages, has been preserved until the
present day. Since the city was developing above
the substructure level , the basement halls were
gradually being filled up with debris and other
waste material, and, so they became inaccessible
in the course of time. Some fifty years ago, the
more comprehensive and more systematic works of
cleaning and rehabilitation of the substructure
were started. Therefore, the substructure space
is nowadays being used as the site for different
activities i.e. exhibitions, concerts, theater
performances, trade fairs etc. The large central
hall in the axis of the Palace is an important
urban communication passage, as it connects the
waterfront with Peristyle.