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
Text nestíhám, fotky ano a ty jsou skvělé :) Split má úžasnou atmosféru.
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Dufam, ze nezabudas oddychovat 😊
Greetings Martina,
Such a lovely and lively post. We cannot help but sense the care you have taken to present your experience of your time spent in Split. The awe of the past and how very long ago it was, comes through and we get to experience it as well through your post.
Lovely! ^__^
Every photograph and your commentary...a treat....thank you Martina.
Kind Regards,
Bleujay
Good morning Bleujay,
Thank you for your kind words. I love sharing my experiences and I'm happy when people perceive them in a way you do.
I wish you a lovely day,
Kind regards,
Martina
Ah I miss those narrow small streets. I had no idea that the big toe of the statue was so desirable for tourists lol.
The small church, I missed that but you are so right about it being a superb location for a small wedding.
The colour of the clouds....beautiful pictures Martina! Maybe you will revisit Split one day !
I would return there too if I could...
It's the first thing that I noticed.. the entire statue is greenish and the big toe is shining 😁
Oh, I'm sure we will. We usually go to Italy or Spain, but now when we've visited Croatia I'm certain we will come back 😊
How are you? I hope you're doing well and that autumn in Romania is much more beautiful than here. We haven't seen sun for weeks..
I am doing alright, we are blessed with a long autumn and the weather in here is still pretty sunny. I remember back from my days in Denmark how desperately I craved for the sun. So it can feel pretty gloomy to have no sun. Maybe going away for a couple of days in a very sunny location would change the mood for at least a little while:) How is your garden going?
I envy you the weather 😊 Unfortunately, we can't go away these days as we're doing a lot of renovation work in the house, and we're on a tight schedule. We don't have a lot of time to spend in the garden either, but I try to go there from time to time. The season has ended, and it's all about cleaning and preparing for winter. We're being kept busy on all fronts 😂
Looks like this was his favorite stance :)
looks like rubbing his big toe is true, they are doing it everywhere :)
Did they just copied part of Nin to Split. The tower also looks similar :)
Maybe it really brings good luck then? 😂 I will never understand those people rubbing statues. It is sooooo unsanitary...
It does a good job in polishing the statues thought. Now I can understand why the big toe was so golden😆😆
😁
So curious to see the same place in the same time when I was there but at a different angle ) The Church of St. Martin is so cute! I am sorry I missed it.
You are an early bird and your reward is nice pictures of streets without the crowd 😊
Great memories!
!LUV
Another reason to come back to Split 😉
It's the beauty of photography - everyone can show the world how they see it 😊
Thank you, my dear! I hope you're doing well.
Split is beautiful, I feel like I have traveled there through your photos. I love architecture and landscapes and the first photo is my favorite by far. That tower in the middle of the statue and the tree 😍
Wonderful place and great shots Martina ✨ Have a nice day :)
!discovery 45
!LUV
Thank you for your kind words!
Have a nice day too!
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Definitely Croatia is a beautiful paradise, full of history, I loved the great antiquity and how history has been framed and preserved completely, what I loved most about your publication the statue of the Bishop and the meaning it had in Christianity, excellent publication. @delishtreats
Thank you for stopping by and for your kind words!
I like the architecture of this site in addition to all the nature that has its environment, worthy of visiting and knowing it.
It is definitely worthy of visiting 😊
You can feel the soul of Croatia through each of your photos and your words that describe so well the beauties of Split and the magic of its ancient streets. Every corner seems to tell a story, and your experiences among the alleys, gardens and the seafront really give a special touch to this trip! Thank you for sharing this adventure with us! 🌍
Thank you for your thoughtful comment 😍
What a beautiful view, the place has a mixture of mystery, history, the beautiful narrow streets, the stone, it forms a very beautiful whole. I love that bronze sculpture and the view of the city with that sky is wonderful!😃
Thank you for stopping by! 😊 Hope, you're doing well!
We are all well here, I hope you are too. It's always a pleasure to see your beautiful posts.😃
!PIZZA
Beautiful blue skies at the beach and then the sunset 😍 love those umbrellas at the end 🙂 I too am interested by all the Roman ruins not the first place you think of for those but it is very close to Italy.
I agree, you don't expect them there, but on the other hand the Roman empire was large, so it's actually not crazy that the ruins are in other countries too...
I've seen a ton of people rubbing the bishop's toe when I visited! :) I imagined it had to be some sort of tradition/ritual. Lovely photos, Split is so awesome!
I've seen people rubbing some part of statues all over Europe, and I just can't understand this kind of beliefs 😂
Thank you and have a lovely day!
Ahahhaha true! Well, as long as it keeps people happy... rub away! :)) !BEER
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BEER.My beautiful Croatia, thank you very much for such a wonderful and excellent presentation and promotion of my country and its jewels in tourism, big hug and many ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ for that dear @delishtreats
Thank you for your kind words 😍
It's been my first, but definitely not the last time in Croatia...
❤️❤️
Wooow! Amazing photos and very nice perspectives! I have been myself to Split two times so far. It's a nice place to visit. I am glad that you had a nice time. Old towns have some special atmosphere with those stones and stone pavement streets. Glad that you had a chance to visit it! There are many nice places to visit on the Adriatic coast. Have a great day!
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