Split is the second largest city in Croatia, after the capital Zagreb and our next destination after Zadar was Split. Split is a coastal Mediterranean city, which reflects, confluence of various culture and has a charm, of its own and is not as commercial as Dubrovnik.
Split was ruled by many empires, including the Roman and Austro-Hungarian Empires, which is reflected in their culture, architecture, and mentality. One of the attractions of the old city is the Diocletian Palace, which was built in the fourth century as a retirement home for the Roman Emperor Diocletian. His biggest achievement was that he divided the kingdom into four parts and had four people (Caesars) ruling these and supervised by Two Emperors. He brought back glory to the Roman Empire.
Diocletian’s Palace, built at the turn of the fourth century as a retirement home for the Emperor Diocletian. The whole complex occupied around 30,000 square meters. Today these ruins lie in the heart of the city of Split in Croatia. The ancient fortress has become the old town of Split, with numerous shops, cafes, restaurants and also apartments, located in the old buildings on narrow streets of the palace/fortress. The palace was built from local limestone and white marble.
The palace has a form of an irregular rectangle with numerous towers on the western, northern, and eastern facades. The southern façade has no towers, because it was rising directly from the waters of the sea. The design of the palace is a mix of villas, and roman castles. The Emperor’s Palace was located on the southern part of the complex – along the seaside. There were four gates to this Palace.
During the day, actors enact many scenes from the life of Emperor Diocletian wearing Roman togas, in their firm and fervent voices, echoing the history of Roman Empire in Croatia. The palace is now one of the best preserved Roman ruins in the entire world and was even a film location for the fourth season of “Game of Thrones”.
I was fascinated by the underground vaults which were also torture chambers and loved the Cathedral of St. Dominus, which one of the best-preserved ancient Roman buildings still is standing.
Another highlight was the half day trip to Hvar, which an island in the Adriatic Sea, is best known as a summer resort. The best tourist attraction of this island was the 13th century walls, and inland lavender fields. It was late in June and I saw full lavender in bloom. The air was filled with its fragrance and purple beauty. The hilltop fortress gives a panoramic view of Hvar, which is breathtaking.
What to Eat:
The best restaurant is town is Villa Spiza where I liked the pumpkin soup and cheese balls in tomato sauce served with mashed potatoes. I ended the lunch with a great dessert of chilled lemon tart.
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Quintessential Indian 