Exactly 1700 years ago, the Roman Emperor Diocletian began building his spectacular palace, where he spent the final years of his life. Diocletian's Palace was strategically constructed on the Adriatic coastline, only four miles from Salona which was the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia.
Split has a long tradition of collecting and caring for monuments. This interest appeared as early as the Renaissance. At the beginning of the XVIth century, a collection of Antique stone epitaphs was stored in the home of the Split nobleman Domino Papalic (today's City Museum) and they were described in one of his friend's, Marko Marulic's, tracts. The Archbishop's Museum was founded by mid-XVIIIth century, and in 1820 the Archeological Museum, the oldest Croatian Museum. These were followed by the other museums and galleries in Split which keep and exhibit various forms of human achievements in this area.
The city of Split is situated in the warmest region of the northern Mediterranean coast, in the very centre of the Adriatic eastern coast . Its mild climate, with 2700 sunny hours per year, makes it an oasis where, sheltered from the wind, one can enjoy the sun even in wintertime.
The cultural and entertainment offer of Split is extremely rich, particularly in the summer, when the city squares, yards and other areas turn into a large open-air stage. The Split Summer, a traditional festival in the middle of the summer season, includes dramas, operas and concerts (from mid-July to mid-August). The Split Saturday Nights are de-voted to classical music. Split also hosts pop-music events, the Art-Summer, folklore shows, the folk feast Days of Radunica, and many other.
Split is also a city of natural born sport talents. There are only a few cities in the world with such a great sport success like Split. This city is home of many famous world athletes and sportsmen with medals from Olympic games, Euro and World Championships.
We will mention some of the world greatest sport legends from Split : Goran Ivanišević, Toni Kukoč, Dino Rađa, Nikša i Siniša Skelin, Nikolaj Pešalov, Đurđica Bjedov, Duje Draganja, Blanka Vlašić, Stipe Božić, Branko Cikatić...