24 Eur / 180 HRK per person

WALKING TOUR SPLIT

DESCRIPTION

Let us tell you something about our city.
Dating as far as antiquity today’s town center is believed to have held the settlement Aspalathos/Spalatos. The name originates from the plant Spanish broom, cro.brnistra (lat. Calicotome villosa), a very common plant in these parts. The Greek name for the plant is aspalathos (ασπάλαθος).
In medieval Latin papers and a large number of documents the town is referred to as Spalatum, the Italian derivative of the name being Spalato. The Croatian name was Split, and in the 19th century official documents used the hyperderivative Spljet, having subsequently been changed to the name we know today.
The second theory noted by Thomas Archdeacon states that the name originates from the Latin word for Diocletian’s Palace: palatium=S-palatium.
The patron saint of Split is Saint Duje, the bishop of Salona, martyred in 304.
Even though the birth of Split is associated with the construction of Diocletian’s palace, 295.-305., i.e 4th century, archaeological digs from 2000 years later (sacral structures, the amphitheater, the harbor on the north side of Marjan) prove that this region was also inhabited in Roman times, long before Diocletian. It is possible there was a Greek colony as well, and due to the favorable geographical position possibly and Illyrian settlement too.
Diocletian, Roman emperor from 284-305 originates from modest family and his name was Diokles. Famous for being the great reformer of the Roman Empire in introducing the system known as tetrarchy, the simultaneous rule of four people. He persecuted Christians and considered himself a deity. The spacious palace built in the area today known as Split was to be used as his retirement place (he was the only Roman emperor to leave the throne without coercion).

The Diocletian palace is the largest and best preserved late antique palace in the world. The eastern and western wall measure 216 meters in length, the south 181 meters and the north 175. The north part of the palace housed servants and the army while the emperors quarters were located in the south. They used an aqueduct that provided water form the river Jadro, in part still used today.
The latest theory states that the palace was never just a place for leisure but a working wool factory. In 480. the last legal heir to the Western Roman Empire, Julius Nepot was poisoned (the often mentioned Romul Augustul only ‘ruled’ Italy). Today a street in Split bears his name.
The remaining parts of the complex are the outer walls, the 4 doors (Golden -Porta Aurea, Silver – Porta Argentea, Iron – Porta Ferrea and Brass -Porta Aenea), Emperor’s mausoleum (today’s Saint Domnius Cathedral), corner towers, Jupiter temple also known as the Temple of all gods, central square -Peristil and just south of Peristil – Vestibul.
We hope this gives you a better idea of the beautiful city of Split.

PRICE INCLUDES

LICENCED TOUR GUIDE

PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE

PRIVATE TOUR

PRICE 59 Eur / 443 HRK per group

GROUP TOUR

PRICE 24 Eur / 180 HRK per person

MEETING POINT

Meeting point Split : Obala Hrvatskog narodnog preporoda 22, Split