Diocletian's Palace is an ancient palace built by the Roman emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century AD. While it is referred to as a "palace" because of its intended use as the retirement residence of Diocletian, the term can be misleading as the structure is massive and more resembles a large fortress: whereof about half was for Diocletian's personal use, and the rest housed the military garrison. Diocletian built the massive palace in preparation for his retirement on 1 May 305 AD. [thanks to Wikipedia]
Here is an artist's (Ernest Hébrard) rendition of the palace from Diocletian's time.
After the Romans abandoned the site, the Palace remained empty for several centuries. In the 7th century, nearby residents fled to the walled palace in an effort to escape invading Slavs. Since then the palace has been occupied, with residents making their homes and businesses within the palace basement and directly in its walls.
This area is called the Peristil.
Diocletian's former Mausoleum was taken over by the church and changed into the cathedral of St Duje.
This is the bell tower.
The palace has restaurants tucked into all sorts of nooks and crannies.
This area outside the palace walls is called the Republic Square.
And lastly, a view of Split from the water.
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