As Vicki and I hopscotched down the coast of Croatia, we saw many restaurants and shops that sold "Dalmatia" food and souvenirs. This group of male singers sang traditional Dalmatian songs in an acoustically perfect place at the Diocletian Palace.
Click here to take a listen and see the palace's centuries old vestibule.
So what is this Diocletian Palace? and what is Dalmatia? In antiquity times, Dalmatia was a tribe before the Croats and Romans arrived. And the palace located in Split was a retirement home built by the Roman Emperor Diocletian (who was a Dalmatian native born to a low status family) at the turn of the fourth century AD.
The photo above shows what it may have looked like back then; a many-tiered complex.
Google map satellite shows what this rectangular area looks like today (red pointer shows our apartment location). It's a huge seaside multi-tiered complex.
One of the many "gates" to this complex (above photo).
His retirement home complex is half the city of Split. Some in ruins, and some not.
The Peristyle architecture is very prominent in Split.
Not sure if this statue on a corner wall is old or not . . . . I thought it was cute.
Everywhere we walked, is part of the Diocletian's Palace complex. The cathedral . . .
. . . his collections of artifacts in separate buildings connected by courtyards.
Daytime view above, and night time view below of same courtyard.
The evening lighting of the complex is beautiful.
And because Split is on a hill, the entire complex is multi-level with many stairs, many twists and turns.
Two days of exploring this huge multi-level many-faceted palace isn't time enough to see it all.
Many of these historic structures contain restaurants and shops, so walking around "the Palace" is like eating, shopping, and living in a museum. This is not a "do not touch" museum.
Close-up of above photo is below.
Electrical, cable, and phone lines are strewn everywhere to bring human daily life to these old structures. For an excellent blog post on how 3,000 permanent residents inside this palace complex are shaping the economy and tourist industry, click here.
View of the exterior perimeter of the complex (below photo), the top floor houses apartments, next to top floor houses restaurants (with outside patio overlooking at busy marina), the bottom floor next to the sea walkway houses more shops and restaurants.
Everywhere is antiquity dining. In the morning when there's not much human traffic, little golf-cart size vehicles deliver supplies and food through the little alleys.
Night-time view below of same building in above photo.
We took a city bus to nearby Trogir. Walking around Trogir's architecture and little alleys is like being a kid exploring a Venetian maze!
The succulents love these old masonry blocks. They grow wild here, getting a start inside a moist crack.
There are no Google maps here!
We took a peek inside the Kamerlengo Castle (below photo). I asked what they're building outside this castle, they said "fudbal" (soccer field). That's what I love about this place! Croatians are living, playing and eating inside, outside, and all around antiquity.
Coming up next, Dubrovnik Old Town. I've saved the best of Croatia's coastline for last. For Game of Thrones fans, you'll recognize this city. It's the main setting for the program's fictional city of King's Landing. No additional props or replica structures were necessary during filming. Just like Zadar and Split, Dubrovnik Old Town is real antiquities, inhabited by humans who have been living, eating and playing for centuries here . . . there are no open-close hours, no entrance tickets, it is a 24/7 community.
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