24
exploring
DIOCLETIAN’S
PALACE
BY KRIS & SARAH
Built in the 4th century as a retirement seaside residence
for the Roman Emperor, his family and 700 or so servants
and guards, this rectangular structure (520 x 620 feet) was
two stories, fronted the sea and was made more like a fort
than a palace. Even though it was abandoned and left in
ruins, it remains one of the best-preserved palaces of
Late Antiquity.
Diocletian’s Palace is the logical place to start exploring
Split, Croatia. It is, after all, the city center of Split and the
origin of the city. Visitors should understand, however, that
while the basic structure of the palace still exists, it is no
longer in its complete form.
After Diocletian’s Palace was abandoned, it was occupied
again in the 7th century by citizens who moved in hoping
to find protection from the invading Slavs. They turned the
ruins into a city within itself.
Most of the structures within the palace were repurposed:
Diocletian’s mausoleum was converted into a cathedral and
the basement halls were turned into a garbage dump, but
the outer walls and gates remained, as well as three of the
13 Egyptian sphinxes that Diocletian had used to decorate
the palace.
Split