CROATIA : SPLIT
The beautiful city of Split has a rich history. Today it is the
economic and administrative center of Middle Dalmatia, with about
200,000 inhabitants.
Since ancient times it has been the economic and administrative
centre of the beautiful Croatian Adriatic coastal region (also known as
“Dalmatia”). The city sits mainly on a peninsula on the eastern part of
the island of Ciovo, although it has nowadays spread onto the mainland
and encompasses the mouth of the River Cetina. The present city of
Split is an organic fusion of its antique heritage and of modern
architecture, set up in the beautiful Mediterranean environment and full
of a sober and thoughtful atmosphere of a big city. As the scientific
centre of the region, Split's scientific institutions have had
remarkable results in many fields including the protection and study of
cultural and natural heritage, oceanography, fishery, Adriatic
agricultural cultures, etc. Split is connected by rail to the
hinterland, by ferry boats to the Adriatic islands, Italy and Croatia,
and to the rest of the world by its international airport.
The site was first settled when, at the end of the third century
AD, the Roman Emperor Diocletian built his palace here at a spot then
called Salona, in AD303. A town developed around the palace .
Diocletian’s Palace still stands in the very heart of the old part of
Split, which charms visitors with its cobbled streets. The
well-preserved palace has been listed as UNESCO's register of the worlds
cultural heritage. The importance of Diocletian's Palace far transcends
local significance because of its level of preservation and the
buildings of succeeding historical periods built within its walls, which
today form the very heart of old Split.
Split's growth became particularly rapid in the 7th century, when
the inhabitants of the destroyed Greek and Roman metropolis Salonae
(present-day Solin) took refuge within its walls. The lovely ruins of
Solin outside the city can still be explored today. In the Middle Ages,
Split was an autonomous commune.
Many of Split's historical and cultural buildings can be found
within the walls of Diocletian's Palace. In addition, numerous museums,
the National Theatre, and old churches and other archeological sites in
the Split region make it an important cultural attraction. Split is a
busy port, with an international airport and regular ferry services with
the nearby islands, the north and south Adriatic, Italy and Greece.