Split Cathedral

Brief Information

The main part of Split Cathedral was built not as a church, but as the mausoleum of Emperor Diocletian. Therefore, one of the strongest contrasts here lies not in the dates, but in the very structure of the building: the ancient octagonal volume continues to function as a cathedral. A Christian church emerged from an imperial funerary building, while the former form did not disappear beneath the new function.

The cathedral stands at the center of Diocletian's Palace; its western facade faces the palace peristyle. Parts from different eras were added to it: the 17th-century choir and the tall bell tower, first erected in 1100 and rebuilt in 1908. Different periods are joined here not only by history: all the parts are made of tuff and white Brač limestone, so the alterations read as a continuation of a single material.

What to Notice First

It is worth comparing the octagonal main section, the choir, and the bell tower: they arose in different centuries, but are united by the same set of stone. This helps you see the cathedral not as a single unified project, but as a building that changed its purpose and was extended while preserving its connection to the Roman palace.

Inside, two rows of columns and the friezes beneath the dome are important. They remain from the layout of the former mausoleum, and the frieze preserves bas-reliefs of Diocletian and Prisca wearing laurel wreaths. Next to them, the Christian layer reads especially clearly: the 13th-century wooden doors are covered with scenes from the life of Christ, the stone pulpit is made in the Romanesque style, and later altars stand in the niches. The crypt also changes the meaning of the space: it is Roman in origin, but in the Christian period it became the Chapel of Saint Lucy.