Diocletian Palace in Split

In the early 4^th century, the Roman emperor Diocletian built near Salona, the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia, a huge palace as a combination of a luxurious and a richly adorned villa and a military camp fortified by towers and walls. When at the beginning of the 7^th century Salona was demolished, the surviving residents found refuge in a palace, which due to new and growing needs grew into a town. The Emperor Diocletian’s Palace, by the preservation of the whole and some original parts, is one of the most significant works of late antique architecture. Some parts were shipped from faraway places, including sphinxes and granite columns which were brought from Egypt. The original architecture of the palace has changed with the passing centuries, so the people who lived within it developed within the Roman walls in the heart of today’s city.