Discovering Historic Split, Split, Croatia

There is something rather special about exploring a city where layers of history are exposed. The story of the past is laid bare, no longer dry words but a series of visual clues to how things once were here. Past and present seem to coexist, and the lives of those earlier inhabitants are revealed as not so very different to our own.

I found Sofia fascinating for that reason when I visited a few years ago, and Split held the same appeal for me. Founded by the ancient Greeks, it rose to prominence in AD293 when the Roman Emperor Diocletian (who had been born in Dalmatia) chose it as the perfect spot for his opulent villa / military base. Its coastal location near the then-capital, Salona, made it a perfect imperial ‘holiday home’! Just ten years later he abdicated and retired to his palace by the sea. The ruins of that palace still remain, in part buried beneath later buildings but elsewhere exposed.

Today there are 220 buildings within the former palace’s footprint, and about 3000 people live here. The narrow streets conceal passageways and courtyards, some quiet and seemingly undiscovered, others buzzing with the conversation of tourists and alive with music emanating from bars and cafés. The locals still hang their washing out overhead, as is the Italian custom. Children play, kicking footballs against the ancient walls or running between fragments of the palace ruins. Life goes on here, it is no museum piece. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).