Diocletian‘s Palace

1. Diocletian‘s Palace

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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

12. 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.

13. 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

14. 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.

15. 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 .

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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.