"And where's the Palace?" a Split Travel Page by diocletianvs

If you ask people of Split to describe their town, they’ll say it is the most beautiful place on Earth. The same will be the answer to the question why the Emperor Diocletian decided to build his Palace exactly here at the end of the 3rd Century.

If you ask anyone else in Croatia what they think about Split and the people of Split, the answer will probably be that this is the craziest place on Earth. And the surrounding Planets.

The truth is that it is beautiful. And somewhat crazy. Like the Emperor who decided to retire here after he split up the unified Roman Empire in terms of governance. Like people who decided to find the shelter within the Palace and transform it into the medieval town.

The story of Split is the story of the constant transformation. This always involved a certain amount of destruction - but most of the times the destruction was creative, adding new values and qualities to the existing structure.

Roman Palace was turned into the Town. Mauseoleum of the torturer of Christians was transformed into a Christian Cathedral... The change is the only constant in Split, a town where today 95-year-olds were officially citizens of seven different countries (from Austria to independent Croatia) without the need of ever leaving their hometown.

Today Split is a modern university town, with its 200,000 inhabitants it is the second largest in the country. It is the largest passenger port in Croatia, and a real gateway to Dalmatia and Mid-Dalmatian islands.

Split is a town of very religious people: they believe in their patron, St. Doimus and in the local football club, Hajduk. Whatever you say about the two, if you don’t want trouble, make sure it’s positive! Same goes for their town.

Remember that the word “crazy” here has positive meaning and is the greatest compliment – same goes for the word “funny” which is associated, in its most weird meaning, with the beautiful girls and women of Split. Of course there’s no doubt here that they’re the most beautiful in the whole World.

Most visitors associate Split with its busy passenger terminal and big traffic jams on their way to one of the ferries for the nearby islands. Some of them try to find the famous Palace, and big percentage of them fails in doing so. I’m always amused by the people standing on the Peristyle, asking for the directions for the Palace.

You have to know what to look for in this town. And you definitely need some time to explore all the layers of its rich history. Each of them added something new to the existing collection, turning Split into an interesting puzzle of meanings.

Let’s explore together this urban treasury - celebrating seventeen centuries of the continous urban life.