Diocletian's palace in Split
Diocletian's palace in Split, Croatia, was built by the great Roman emperor at the turn of the 4th century AD. It is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. The massive palace was built in a bay on the south side of a short peninsula on the Dalmatian coast, on a gentle seaward slope of limestone ridges.
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The mighty ruin of the Diocletioan palace has inspired the neoclassical style of Scottish architect Robert Adam. Even though the palace now houses restaurants and shops in its walls, it is a very well preserved structure, being one of the most famous and complete architectural features on the Croatian Adriatic coast and the most complete remains of a Roman palace.
The limestone and marble palace has a irregular rectangle layout with towers on the west, north and east facades. It served as both a luxurious residence and a military camp with giant gates and watchtowers. Monumental gates in the middle section of each wall would grant access to the inner courtyards.
The southern facade, facing the sea, was unfortified, consisting of a vast arcade gallery waterfront.
The inner circulations abides by a castrum layout, a crossing of a main transverse road and longitudinal road. The south area enclosed the luxurious apartments of the emperor and the religious buildings. The monumental court to the north, called Peristyle, grants access to the mausoleum, which is now the cathedral of St. Dominus, and to 3 temples, of which the former temple of Jupiter is now a baptistery. The cupola vaulted mausoleum was added an imposing square Romanesque belfry tower with round arch windows, sculptures and an octagonal last floor, now a landmark of the city. The cathedral houses the relics of Saint Dominus on the first floor of the sacristy. It also features sacral artworks such as The Madonna and Child Romanesque panel painting from the 13th century, chalices and reliquaries by goldsmiths from the 13th tu 19th centuries, valuable books such as the 6th century Book of Gospels.
The former temple of Aesculapus, west of the peristylum, has a semi cylindrical roof of hand carved stone blocks covered by a lead roof. Aside from the massive round columns and entablements symbolical of Roman greatness, the Diocletian palace has received imported Egyptian granite columns and sphynxes as decorations.
