Spalato

"If Split to-day still possesses "all those advanteges of situation to which the ancients were most attentive" [so wrote Robert Adam in 1764], the modern traveller will rub his eyes as he steams into the harbour and sees the busy port and the long line of high buildings with the great campanile towering above. But gradually between the tall pink and cream houses he will see the line of the great Corinthian columns of the splendid crypto-porticus which was the glory of the Diocletian's palace, and as he walks along the quay he will come to the narrow doorway which now, as then, is the only entrance from the waterfront into the ancient town. The road between the wall and the sea is modern, for in Diocletian's day the water came right up to the wall, and there was only a small landing-stage with steps (pp. 63-64).

The narrow door in the quay leads into what was the vaulted basement of the Palace, and in the walls of the houses on either side may be seen the arches of which one half are now above the level of the ground. The original stone steps lead up to the famous peristyle with its beautiful arcades. On one side the arches are incorporated in Renaissance houses, but it is impossible to regret the fire which a short time ago removed the mean buildings that clustered round the mausoleum, a clearance which makes it possible to enjoy the arcade in all its delicacy and beauty (pp. 67-68).

To the right of the portico stands the famous building, now the cathedral of Split, which was either a temple to Jove or else built by Diocletian for his mausoleum: the historians of the Renaissance are followed by Adam and Sir Thomas Jackson in believing it to have been a temple. […]. But whatever may have been its original purpose all are agreed that with the exception of the Parthenon it is the most important classical building that remains almost intact (p. 71).

By returning to the right outside the Porta Aurea we may walk beneath the great wall and turning south again come to the market-place and the Porta Aenea. The Roman gate has disappeared, and but four of its arches were built into the wall when it was strengthened by the Venetians, as was all the wall on that side when the town had outgrown the Palace, but some of the arcades that lined the street are still in existence and are to-day occupied by shops. Except for fragments of walls and arches concealed here and there in the rabbit-warren of houses we have now seen all that remains to-day of a palace which in its time was the wonder of the civilized world (pp. 76-77).

The splendid romanesque campanile which dominates the town looks curiously modern as a result of the restoration at the end of the nineteenth century. […]. Beyond the Porta Ferrea lies the charming little square, the Gospodski Trg (the Piazza dei Signori), in which stands what was the Municipio in the days of the rule of Venice. Built in 1433 it is now a museum containing a most interesting collection of the arts, crafts and costumes of the province, while on the top floor are sold the embroideries and woodwork of local manufacture. The narrow street in the south-west corner leads to the Vočni Trc (the fruit market), where stands the Hrvoya Tower, the only part of the mediaeval fortification which now remains.

Split is the largest and most prosperous town on the Dalmatian coast, and is the capital of the province. All day long steamers and sailing boats come and go upon their business in the sheltered harbour. Along the quayside are berthed the broad-beamed local sailing craft; in the stern of each are set up under gay awnings the stalls of their owners, where they sell the fruit and vegetables of their market gardens. Outside the Porta Aenea is the market-place, where may be found beautiful examples of the old embroidery and where may still be seen the peasants in the local costume (pp. 80-81)".