Diocletian's Palace and the Bishop's Toe

Diocletian's Palace

           

This is the ancient palace built for the Roman Emperor Diocletian at the beginning of the 4th century AD. Diocletian's intended to use it as a retirement residence. It resembles more of a large fortress. Half of it was for Diocletian's personal use, and the rest housed the military garrison. (Probably a tax write off.) His retirement took place on May 1, 305 AD.

                  

Today it forms about half of the historic old town of Split, Croatia. It was unusual for Emperors to actually retire but Diocletian was a Dalmation Coast son and this was his dream.

       

The palace is a maze of streets and old sections which have not been re-habbed and sections which have clearly and wonderfully been rebuilt. And like seemingly everything else along this coast of Croatia...it has been used as a filming location for the TV series,  Game of Thrones.

        

It has endless streets which contain original stones worn smooth by the feet of centuries. Today it forms THE centerpiece for the city with more restaurants and cafes and bars than I have ever seen clustered in one place. You can walk for an hour winding though the old palace and come across ancient stones or then modern commerce, or another hi-end shop or a touristy curio shop or a wine bar or Risotto restaurant.

Come in the morning and avoid the crowds and the streets and passages are cool in temperature and cool in just being there.

           

There are actual residents within the houses of the palace and many B&B apartments.

           

The Romans abandoned the site not long after Diocletian died and it remained empty for several centuries. The Croats invaded the area in the 7th century and nearby residents, the Dalmatians, fled to the walled palace to escape. It then became occupied again.

           

After the Middle Ages the palace was virtually unknown in the rest of Euope until a Sottish architect Rober Adam had the ruins surveyed and he and others published a book on the Ruins in London in 1764. It then became known again to the larger world. It always amazes me that such things as this can be built...and fall into ruin....and be forgotten to history and then seemingly re-discovered. I can understand how you "lose" say, a treasure chest. But to "lose" and entire Roman palace and garrison?

            

The palace was declared by UNESCO a World Cultural Heritage site. Over the centuries the original walls have remained and much of the original portions built by Diocletian but like so many ancient palaces and garrisons and castles....it has been added to and subtracted from and interior buildings have been built and destroyed over nearly two millennia.

     

So what you get today is a mixture of the oldest of old and some parts preserved and some decaying and some re-purposed for shopping and restaurants and general commerce.

        

It really does not matter...just walk it. Walk it during the morning hours and during the night.

            

At night it is exactly the same place that you walked in the morning.

        

But not really....it is entirely new. The modern lighting sets off the classical lines. 

    

And adds depth and drama to ancient construction even as you walk around a corner to a hipster bar selling Dalmation wine and Jack Daniels.

The oldest of the old are seemingly such things as portions of Roman tiles embedded in some courtyards.

           

I don't know how one could tire of roaming the ancient streets and then coming upon a restaurant playing Thelonius Monk and then another down the street playing Louis Armstrong and then another playing Beatles music in the various, endless array of eateries.

Then turn the corner again and look up and see this ancient portion of the palace.

     

If you tire of all this, then there is little hope for you.

Peace,  Bob

P.S.   

The Bishops Toe...in my title. This was Gregory of Nin, a medieval Croatian bishop who strongly opposed the Pope and introduced the national language of Croatian, in the religious services rather than Latin which no one understood, in the 8th century. Clearly the Pope was not pleased (like he knew where the Dalmatian Coast even was.....) The result was the strengthening of the Croatian language and culture....and it strengthened Christianity in Croatia. For that he gets a massive statue at the Golden Gate of the palace. Tourists touch his huge toe for good luck.

Such is history.