SALONA

Salona (Colonia Martia Iulia Salona in Roman times), Salona is the cradle of Roman Dalmatia, its capital city, and dates back to the 4th century BC. Only with the coming of the Romans in the 1st century did the city become so important—as a port, political, military and trade center.  Some of the majesty is still here—remains of the temples, thermal spas, forum, amphitheatre, squares, storage houses, public and residential buildings. Salona is also the area where the Emperor Diocletian is presumed to have come from. At the end of his reign, when he commanded that his palace be built, he chose a site on the peninsula next to Salona, in a natural cove that faces south—present day Split.  After glorious Roman centuries, Salona fell to Avars and Slavs from the north and later was almost completely destroyed by successive invasions.  When the barbarians first attacked, many of Salona’s residents fled to Diocletian’s Palace, which by that time had become a walled fort filled with many buildings that eventually housed thousands of refugees. Centuries later, Croats settled in the ruined and abandoned parts of Salona but never forgot its historical significance. Successive Croatian rulers eventually established the Croatian city of Solin and re-built many of the churches and public buildings. Practically every agency offers half-day and full-day tours from Split—don’t be put off by the heavily traveled commercial/industrial jumble that surrounds the site.

Tourist office