Our Croatian adventure is coming to an end, and today I will show you around Split which will be our last stop. Our hotel was located less than 15 minutes walk from the old town, and there was enough free time to enjoy, so I managed to go there many times. I bought 3 books in a local bookstore and everyday spent some time reading on a bench somewhere in the old town, or on a terrace of a cafe. As a proper bookworm I enjoyed that so much. Of course, I didn't only read, but I have also spent a lot of time exploring the old town and walking around the maze of medieval narrow cobblestone streets.
The most beautiful entrance to the old town is right in front of The Gregory of Nin statue. It's the statue of a bishop from the 10th century who advocated for the Old Croatian language instead of Latin during the liturgical services. He also worked on spreading the Christianity across Croatia which reminds me of Cyril and Methodius who brought Christianity to my home region less than 100 years earlier.
It is said that rubbing his big toe brings good luck and ensures that you return to Split. It is a bronze statue, and you can see the impact of time on it, but the big toe is still shining bright. Every time I came here there were people queueing to rub the toe! I didn't even get a chance to come closer. Don't get me wrong, I would have never rubbed the toe, but I would have loved to take a photo. At least, I found a place from where it looks like there was nobody, but all those people are hidden behind the bushes - a little honesty in the online world.
Every time I came here I was intrigued to find out why this bell tower was standing alone. It is not usual to see a bell tower without some sort of a religious building attached to it. It is dedicated to St. Arnir, and there used to be a monastery built around it which was destroyed during World War II and never rebuilt. You can climb the tower, but it closes quite early, so I never managed.
Just turn around and you're in front of The Golden Gate.
The Golden Gate was the most representative gate to the Diocletian Palace (and it still is in my opinion). Today, it is not so decorated, but in the past there were statues and reliefs to show its importance. When you enter the palace from any other side you might not realize how massive it is.
The other side of the Golden Gate...
I have passed by this garden several times, and once I've overheard a tour guide saying that this is the only garden inside of the palace. I've tried to look it up, but I'm still not sure if it's true, however I must admit that I didn't see any other gardens there.
More importantly, how is it possible that those strelitzia plants strive outside with little care when I love my plants so much and give them all the attention, and they still struggle?!
I loved walking around the palace! It is a UNESCO heritage site, and represents one of the best preserved sites of Roman architecture. There is an interesting mixture of old and new as there are residential buildings inside of the palace, and they are built directly amongst the ruins.
One of guys from the catering company during HiveFest told me that he lives in one of such buildings in the palace. We talked about advantages and disadvantages of such apartments, and he emphasized that mostly they are happy that so many tourists visit the complex, but sometimes it is difficult due to the noise and all the strangers walking around all the time. I can understand his concerns, but I wonder if the sea views don't compensate the inconvenience 😊 (of course not everyone has the sea views)
This is the perfect example of what I mean by old and new - the medieval wall right next to a new residential building with more ruins just behind the railing.
There are multiple levels in the palace which I didn't realize at first. I didn't want to walk around the same streets, so I took another turn and this is when I found out about the levels. It looks like a maze, but you can't really get lost as there are some signs which lead you either to the promenade or to the cathedral.
When I saw how many buildings in the palace were turned into apartments I was so happy that we booked our room in another part of the city. There is no parking and I would have hated dragging my luggage up and down those stairs.
There are so many similarities between Split and Italian cities. Honestly, I didn't know about the Roman impact when we arrived, so our first walk in the old town was surprising. I didn't expect such architecture at all.
I would have never noticed this entrance if there wouldn't be some people leaving when I was walking by. Then I saw a sign that it was a church. Very unusual, so let's have a look!
The Church of St. Martin is the smallest church in the Diocletian Palace and I can honestly say that it's the smallest church that I have ever visited. I'm thinking that it's even smaller than the smallest chapel that I've seen. I walked up one flight of stairs to get to a tiny room on the right with a nun sitting on a chair reading the bible. What a cliche, right? She didn't speak English, but I've noticed a sign that the visit costs 1 EUR. I gave her a coin and continued inside of the church.
It dates back to the 6th century, but it was remodeled in the 11th century. I don't think that it's well known among tourists as I've spent there some time on my own. It's not like that there would fit many more people, but I was surprised that nobody else entered.
Imagine a small wedding ceremony in this place, it's so romantic.
When I left the church I decided to go the promenade for the last glimpse of the sea before we left Croatia. On the way, I found this cute entrance to one of the accommodations.
Imagine dragging your luggage through such narrow cobblestone streets. I wonder if people who book rooms in the palace know what is waiting for them.
The closer you get to the sea the wider the streets become...
And here we are! The promenade was as busy as expected...
This is why we came here - the views! I didn't go swimming at all during the week, but the views were enough to fill me up with the energy.
Before we leave Split I want to show you the views from the terrace of the Mall of Split where we went one evening to watch a movie in the cinema. We enjoyed such a beautiful sunset...
It was the day when it was raining, and there were still dark clouds behind the mountains that made the scenery look so pretty...
I loved all those hues of orange, pink, and purple...
And there are some moon photos too!
I have seen such decoration many years ago in the streets of Luxembourg, and it was nice to see it again in a different part of the world.
I hope that you have enjoyed our Croatian trip!
Thank you for reading,
Cheers, Martina
