Croatia – Salona and Split

In the fall of 2017, we visited some Greek and Roman Ruins at Paestum on the western side of Italy.  Today we are visiting Salona, an ancient city and capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia along the Adriatic Sea in Croatia.  This too is a architectural site (now) of classic ruins from so long ago.  Salona was once the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia and is now largest archaeological park in Croatia. Its size is evidenced by the imposing walls with towers and gates.

The forum with temples, the amphitheater, and the cemetery with the Salonitan martyrs.  This was a  city with over 60,000 inhabitants, and according to legend, the birthplace of Emperor Diocletian. 

Salona is first mentioned as an Illyrian city in 119 BCE and the city had already constructed walls by then. The Romans took this place in 78 BCE, and under Augustus’s rule expanded the walls and city. It became the administrative seat of the Dalmatian province of the empire. When the emperor Diocletian built his palace in Split at the end of the 3rd century CE, he was attracted by the proximity of Salona. This great history all broke down in the 7th century when the city was razed by the invading Avars and then the Slavs. The inhabitants fled to take refuge within Diocletian’s old palace walls and to the neighboring islands, leaving Salona to perish.

Wandering through this empire of ruins is an evocative journey into the age of emperors, gladiators and Christian martyrs. Although many ancient treasures in Salona are now on display in the Archaeological Museum in Split, there are a surprising amount still on site. Numerous sarcophagi are scattered throughout the area.

After our tour of the ruins, we reboarded the bus and headed for our walking tour of Split.

Split historically known as Spalato is the second-largest city of Croatia, after the capital Zagreb, the largest city in Dalmatia and the largest city on the Croatian coast. It lies on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea and is spread over a central peninsula and its surroundings

The city was founded as the Greek colony of Aspálathos, named for the profusion of the flowering shrub known as “broom”. In the 3rd or 2nd century BCE and in 305 CE, it became the site of the Palace of the Roman emperor Diocletian. It became a prominent settlement around 650 when it succeeded the ancient capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia, Salona. After the sack of Salona by the Avars and Slavs, the fortified Palace of Diocletian was settled by Roman refugees. 

Diocletian’s Palace was built at the end of the third century AD as a residence for the Roman emperor Diocletian, and today forms about half of the old town of Split, Croatia. While it is referred to as a “palace” because of its intended use as the retirement residence of Diocletian, the term can be misleading as the structure is massive and more closely resembles a large fortress: about half of it was for Diocletian’s personal use, and the rest housed the military garrison.

Split became a Byzantine city while later it drifted into the sphere of the Republic of Venice and the Kingdom of Croatia, with the Byzantines retaining nominal control. 

For much of the High and Late Middle Ages, Split enjoyed autonomy as a free city of the Dalmatian city-states, caught in the middle of a struggle between Venice and Croatia for control over the Dalmatian cities.  With various rulers taking control including Napoleon, Habsburg, Austrian Empire, Yugoslavia and finally as the independent country Croatia. 

The Temple of Jupiter is an ancient Roman temple located to the west from the Peristyle Square, the centerpiece of Diocletian’s Palace. Like the rest of the palace complex, it was built between 295 and 305. The ancient temple was afterwards converted into a Christian baptistery dedicated to St John the Baptist, which might have happened as early as the sixth century.

It really seems as if we are on a Games of Thrones tour as once again, we are visiting a city where they filmed a portion of the action.  A part of season four was filmed, in part, in the palace basements as they were used as the setting for where Daenerys keeps her dragons.  

So, if you have enjoyed following along on our travels, leave a comment!