CROATIA (Continued) - Phil & Jill 2019

UNESCO World Heritage protected -Split

17.09.2019 28 °C

It has been a while since writing but we have not been idle I can assure you.

When I last wrote we had just arrived in Split. This city continued to amaze. The story of Split is 1700 years old, dating back to the time the Roman Emperor Diocletian decided to build his Palace right on the peninsula near the great Roman city of Salona. The palace slowly turned into a city with rich tradition, glorious history and beauty. The Diocletian's Palace and the entire historical core of Split on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1979.

A walk through the ancient city takes you through great examples of ancient architecture like Peristyle square where formerly the Emperor held court and now the locals and tourists alike meet to catch up with a cup of coffee or glass of wine.

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Medieval Romanesque Church with its Bell Tower, Gothic Palace, Renaissance portals of the noblemen's houses are awe inspiring. The city still has a sense of the era gone by and the Roman soldiers in the square add to the atmosphere.

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We visited the Ethnographical museum with its exhibits of olive oil farming, harvesting and processing plus replicas of traditional costumes with their intricate embroidery.

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In amongst the squares and buildings many local artefacts are sold for young and old to enjoy.

There are palaces of former wealthy noblemen that have now been turned into museums. We visited the City Museum which houses the family treasures of the Papalic family who settled in Split in the 14th century and became known as some of the respected families in the city. They built the Palace as their family home. The museum today serves to tell you about what it was to live in Split , with its sculptures and art work abundant. They also have a music room where they periodically have musical evenings. The walls are decorated with swords and weapons

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The Cathedral of St Dominus was the former mausoleum of Dioceltian and is guarded with one of the remaining 11 sphinxes having been destroyed by the Christians who regarded Egyptian imagery as an imposition to their religion. The original tomb has long since gone but the Cathedral remains to be the oldest operating Christian church in the world. Its gilded wooden altars and its dome were impressive.

The bell tower is dominant everywhere you go. It took 42 years to build.

Phil popped up everywhere too!!

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In between the area of the Ethnographic museum and the Placa was the vestibule where a quartet of Croatian men sang cappella with traditional songs. The gaping hole on the top is impressive but when we went to pay to climb up to the bell tower the girl told me the dome had fallen in!!

Outside the city wall is the long promenade of the Riva. The palm lined walk is full of street restaurants where you can eat and watch the world go by. On the beautiful sunny days we had it was beautiful. We had lunch there and on the next day our pre-wine dinner. At night it comes alive with the restaurants mainly serving seafood, live musicians playing and a stage show. What an atmosphere day or night.