Dalmatia’s main port and a vivacious, turbulent focus of commerce and culture, Split is one of the highlights of any visit to the Adriatic coast.

As well as being a boisterous seaside city with a surfeit of pavement cafes and good beaches, Split enjoys the unique status of being the urban outgrowth of a Roman imperial palace.

Roman Split

It was here that Emperor Diocletian chose to retire in 310AD, building an opulent palace that was a self-supporting town in its own right - with a grid of streets connecting palace quarters, servants’ quarters, service areas and military barracks. The palace was subsequently occupied by refugees from Roman Salona, who adapted the former palace to their own needs, turning some imperial buildings into dwellings, and using the stones from others to build structures of their own.

Split today

As a result, central Spit is an intoxicating mixture of Roman masonry, medieval additions and Renaissance town houses, the central precinct of which (still known as the ‘palace’) is surrounded by surviving chunks of Diocletian’s walls. Given such a historical pedigree it is not surprising that Split is a major tourist attraction, with a burgeoning bar and restaurant scene catering for a young and hedonistically-inclined public. Split’s tourist popularity has led to changes in the city’s social structure, however, with fewer and fewer local people remaining in a city-centre increasingly dominated by short-term rental apartments.