the living museum of split and Diocletian’s PALACE
Split from the water
Hey guys! Welcome back!
Everyone talks about Split. But until you walk its streets, you can’t imagine how much history is packed into one place.
This was my first time here, and I didn’t expect to see an entire city center built inside a Roman emperor’s palace. It’s not just a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it’s actually alive!
About 3000 people still live within the palace walls, raising families and running shops in the same corridors where emperors once walked.
The medieval houses built inside of the Diocletian Palace
A Living Museum Above Diocletian’s Palace
Diocletian, the Roman emperor who built this palace in the 4th century AD, was a complex and controversial figure. Although today Croatia proudly claims him as one of its own, in his time Split was not Croatian at all…it was part of Dalmatia, a province of the Roman Empire.
Dalmatia stretched along the Adriatic coast, and Split was one of its prized jewels. The birthplace of Dioclesian was Salona, just a few kilometers away. Today it lies within modern Croatian borders, but in the 4th century AD it was unmistakably Roman: latin-speaking, bustling with trade, and deeply tied to the empire’s political and military life…
The back entrance of the Palace of Diocletian
Diocletian is infamous for launching the most severe persecution of Christians in Roman history. He believed Christianity threatened the unity and stability of the empire, which depended on worship of the traditional Roman gods, especially Jupiter, Mars, Apollo, and the goddess Cybele, to whom he was personally devoted.
Christians refused to sacrifice to these deities, which in his eyes was not just religious defiance, but political rebellion. In 303 AD, he issued a series of edicts ordering churches destroyed, scriptures burned, and Christians to renounce their faith or face imprisonment, torture, and execution.
The Dioclesian Mausuleum became a medieval church
The medieval church became St. Dominus Cathedral
Inside the church
His palace was part fortress, part imperial villa, and part religious complex. Today, the Temple of Jupiter still stands as one of its most striking structures. Originally a pagan temple dedicated to the king of the Roman gods, it later became a Christian baptistery, symbolizing the dramatic shift in faith that swept through the empire.
Temple of Jupiter
Roman Jupiter = Greek Zeus
The entrance of the temple of Jupiter
Walking here feels surreal. You touch stone columns brought from Egypt from places like Aswan and Luxor, and realize you’re in a building where materials traveled thousands of kilometers centuries before cargo ships existed.
Sphinx brought from Egypt
Everywhere you turn, you see history within the Roman walls and columns that now serve as caffe terraces, medieval doorways hide modern apartments, and laundry hangs from balconies overlooking courtyards that once belonged to the imperial guard.
A Crossroads of Civilizations
Split has always been at the center of life on the Adriatic coast. The first people here were the Illyrian Dalmatae, who lived along these shores for centuries.
Later, Greek traders came and set up colonies on nearby islands like Hvar and Vis, bringing new ideas and a love for the sea. The Romans arrived in the 2nd century BC, turning the area into an important part of their empire, building Salona and the Diocletian’s impressive palace in Split.
Inside of the Cellars of the Diocletian Palace
Many years later, the Venetian Republic took over and ruled for almost 400 years, leaving their mark everywhere: in the city’s beautiful buildings, its food, and even in some of the words locals still use today.
Venetian Architecture
Even today, the local Croatian dialect carries Venetian loan words. I speak Italian, so when I was talking to locals, I caught familiar Italian words.
I had a friend in Split, and his uncle offered to show me around downtown, and we could speak entirely in Italian. Historically, Italian really was a second language here, especially during Venetian rule, when it was used in trade, politics, and everyday life.
Venetian style
And the food? Their most iconic dish “black risotto” (crni rižot, or risotto al nero di seppia) comes straight from Venetian culinary tradition! Eating it in a seaside restaurant while looking out over the Adriatic feels like dining in the middle of history…
PEOPLE AND MEDITERRANEAN CULTURE
One of the first things you notice in Split, apart from the sea and the history, is the people. Croatians from this part of the coast are famously tall, and yes, the rumors are true: the men here could easily pass as models, sun-darkened skin with broad shoulders, easy smiles, strong jawlines, they seem like they just stepped out of a Mediterranean painting. They have this confident Mediterranean way of moving, the kind you see in people who’ve grown up by the sea.
The women are often tall and slender, with long legs and an effortless posture. Many have striking facial features, high cheekbones, almond-shaped eyes, and yes, sometimes a more prominent nose that somehow makes their faces even more elegant and memorable.
It’s the kind of beauty that feels rooted in strong heritage fo different cultures.
During the summer Split flows at a different pace, mornings are for coffee in the sun, afternoons are for a swim or a stroll along the Riva (waterfront), and evenings are full of laughter, music, and long dinners by the sea. People joke easily, tease each other like old friends, and will go out of their way to help you.
Split by night
This region of Croatia feels very different from Zagreb. The capital has a touch of Central Europe, almost Austrian in its architecture and cafés. But Split is pure Mediterranean, and specifically, Italian-Mediterranean.
The Island of Hvar
And just when you think Split has given you everything: history, beauty, and a heartbeat you can feel in its streets, the Adriatic reminds you there’s more to see. From the Riva, boats leave every day toward the nearby islands, each with its own magic.
The most famous of them all is Hvar, a place of lavender fields, sun-soaked beaches, and nights that seem to last forever. I’ll tell you all about Hvar in another blog, because that island deserves its own story.
With my friend Bozo
Special thanks to my friend Bozo and his uncle for the hospitality. I had so much fun and I truly recommend you to visit this amazing city and try the food. And also, if you are fan of Game of Thrones you should visit because this is the place where it was filmed!
These are my recommendations:
Soparnik and Borek at the Misto Street Food
Black Risotto at the Konoba Varos
Pasticada at the Konoba Varos
Cevapti at the Villa Spiza
Thank you guys for reading!
Natalia Cortes, July 2025
