CROATIA - Split and the Palace of Diocletian

Split; historically known as Spalato (from Venetian and Italian); is the second-largest city of Croatia. The city was founded as the Greek colony of Aspálathos in the 3rd or 2nd century BCE on the coast of the Illyrian Dalmatae, and in 305 CE, it became the site of the Palace of the Roman emperor Diocletian. It became a prominent settlement around 650 when it succeeded the ancient capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia . After the sack of Salona by the Avars and Slavs, the fortified Palace of Diocletian was settled by Roman refugees. Split became a Byzantine city. Later it drifted into the sphere of the Republic of Venice and the Kingdom of Croatia, with the Byzantines retaining nominal suzerainty. For much of the High and Late Middle Ages, Split enjoyed autonomy as a free city of the Dalmatian city-states, caught in the middle of a struggle between Venice and Croatia for control over the Dalmatian cities. Venice eventually prevailed and during the early modern period Split remained a Venetian city, a heavily fortified outpost surrounded by Ottoman territory. In 1797, as Venice fell to Napoleon, the Treaty of Campo Formio rendered the city to the Habsburg monarchy. In World War II, the city was annexed by Italy, then liberated by the Partisans after the Italian capitulation in 1943. The city was liberated again by the Partisans in 1944, and was included in the post-war Socialist Yugoslavia, as part of its republic of Croatia. In 1991, Croatia seceded from Yugoslavia amid the Croatian War of 1979, the historic center of Split was included into the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Historical Complex of Split with the Palace of Diocletian: Diocletian’s Palace is an ancient palace built for the Roman emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century AD, which today forms about half the old town of Split. The Palace is built of white local limestone and marble of high quality, most of which was from the Brač marble quarries on the island of Brač. The Palace was decorated with numerous 3500-year-old granite sphinxes, originating from the site of Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III. Only three have survived the centuries. One is still on the Peristyle, the second sits headless in front of Jupiter’s temple, and a third is housed in the city museum. Diocletian’s Palace was used as a location for filming the fourth season of the HBO series Game of Thrones. Font Wikipedia: ,_Croatia Music by Whitesand Title: Alchemy of Life Link: Website - Support making these tracks - Buy My Music - Spotify: Filmed with SONY RX10M3 in July 2021. #croazia #croatia #split #spalato