REGION-CENTRAL-DALMATIA

From Rogoznica, the Adriatic coastal highway continues southeast, through the picturesque Marina, on to Trogir, a town situated on an islet between the mainland and the island of Ciovo. Built on the foundations of a Greek colony, Trogir is a unique example of mediaeval town planning. Its streets are narrow, while the houses are of equal height-an expression of the concern for measure characteristic of Adriatic towns. Trogir is rich in architectural monuments and statues, such as the Greek relief of God Kairos, the humble old Croatian church of Sv. Barbara (St. Barbara), and Gothic and Renaissance palaces. The focal point of the town space is the cathedral of Sv. Lovro (St. Lawrence). The cathedral’s main portal was made by master Radovan in 1240, signed as "the best of all in this art". A counterpart to this Romanesque masterpiece is the chapel of the Blessed Ivan Ursini, the work of Nikola Firentinac, housing sculptures by Andrija Alesi, Ivan Duknovic, and Firentinac himself. The many magnificent achievements in architecture and sculpture speak of the high cultural standards of the citizens of Trogir. When the town was destroyed in 1123, its citizens rebuilt it just as the citizens of other Adriatic towns did in similar situations. And like Zadar and Biograd, despite the destruction, Trogir has continued to exist in the same place, not only because of favorable location, but also because of the spirit of its citizens dedicated to their communal traditions.
The history of Solin is somewhat similar. The town developed on the location of ancient Salona, the biggest Roman town on the east Adriatic coast, which was completely destroyed during the Slav and Avar invasion in the 7th century. However, Solin never matched the urban development of ancient Salona, because the neighbouring Split emerged as a more attractive town. Split developed in what remained of the palace of Roman emperor Diocletian, and the Romans escaping from Salona settled in it, and later the Croats arrived as well. A palace thus became a city, and Solin was turned into its suburb. The road from Trogir to Split leads through Kastela, a series of seven small towns that developed from forts (or Kastel; thereby the name). These forts were built by secular and clerical feudal landlords from Trogir and Split during the 15th and 16th centuries to protect their land from the Turks. They were the cores around which the later small towns congealed, in the same way that Diocletian’s palace gave refuge to survivors from Salona to form the core of today’s Split.

Like in Zadar, the history of Split clearly speaks of the tenacity of its citizens and of intensive interactions of old and new cultures. One easily notices this kind of heritage by walking from the Peristyle of Diocletian’s palace to what used to be the Emperor’s mausoleum and is now the cathedral of St. Duje (Domnius), passing by Andrija Buvina’s Romanesque doorposts, and arriving into the middle of a pagan shrine that Christianity transformed into a superb expression of profound religiosity. Juraj Dalmatinac left a masterpiece here too: the altar of Sv. Stosija (St. Anastasia) with a relief of the flagellation of Christ marks an artistic and cultural watershed in European history. Obviously inspired by the renewal of interest in classical sculpture during the Renaissance, Juraj reintroduced the classical attention to the physical after centuries of one-dimensional mediaeval spirituality. A harmonious Romanesque belfry dominates the whole complex as an expression of the ultimate victory of the mediaeval civilization over the classical one-an expression of religious victory, but also of cultural interaction.

On the eve of the modern era, Split crossed the walls of the Emperor’s Palace and expanded in all directions, growing into the modern town at the foot of Marjan Hill that it now is. Like most Adriatic towns, Split is very closely involved with its sea and its islands. Although each of the Central Dalmatian islands is unique in its own way, they all gravitate towards Split. The closest to Split is the island of Solta, a small pearl of an island. Its coves are best viewed from the sea; boaters should disembark at Stomorka or Necujam where Diocletian’s officials spent their summer holidays, and Renaissance poets mused over the scenery. It is wonderful to set sail from Solta for Brac in the morning, or to pass through the Hvar channel at sunset. There are many island sights worth seeing, such as Skrip on Brac, where there is a miniature Baroque church, or Blaca with its dwellings of hermit priests, or Stari Grad on the island of Hvar where Hektorovic’s fort exudes humanistic enthusiasm, or the theatre in the town of Hvar, which was opened at the beginning of the 17th century in the old arsenal building. It is equally rewarding to spend some time relaxing in Jelsa or Vrboska on Hvar; to attend popular processions and singing on the night of Easter Friday on Hvar, Solta, or Brac; to see the burning of the traditional gajeta (a half-decked one-masted fishing boat) in honour of St. Nicholas in Komiza, or to set sail from Vis for Bisevo to enjoy Modra Spilja (Blue Cave), a unique natural phenomenon. Another thing to see in the sea near Split is the island of Jabuka with its black cliffs, rising a hundred meters out of the sea. Remembering that Diocletian’s palace was made of Brac stone, that the Hvar theatre was built at the beginning of the 17th century, and that the Renaissance poet Hektorovic from Hvar wrote lyrics about life at sea, one can appreciate the flair and sparkle of life on the central Dalmatian islands. Nature is bountiful on these islands, and the people knew how to utilize its bounty, and expand it by their imagination and creativity.

Deeper in the Split hinterland is the town of Sinj. Since the 18th century, the Sinj Alka is held each summer. Horsemen attired in elaborate uniforms compete by trying to pick up a metal ring (alka) hanging from a wire with a lance in full gallop. Sinj is one of the biggest Marian shrines in Croatia, attracting pilgrims every summer on the Feast of the Assumption in August. The coastal region east of Split is also interesting, starting with the gravel beaches of Stobrec. Omis, situated on the gigantic canyon mouth of the Cetina river, was famous for its mediaeval pirates whose fort stands there. The ancient church of Sv. Petar (St. Peter) in Priko is an example of the earliest period in Croatian sacral architecture. Makarska is situated in a magnificent setting under Biokovo Mountain. The stone houses of Makarska viewed against the backdrop of the rugged mountain illustrate the effort of the people of the Adriatic to adapt to their environment.

In the hinterland of Central Dalmatia runs the river Krka, the bigger part of which was declared a national park. More than two thirds of its total length flows through a canyon, with mostly vertical walls over a hundred meters high. There are seven waterfalls on the river, where a vast amount of water plunges with great energy. The most beautiful falls are Roski slap and Skradinski buk; the latter consists of seventeen cascades with the total drop of over forty meters. Situated between the last two waterfalls is a lake called Visovacko jezero, on which there is an island with a monastery.
Further south in Central Dalmatia is the Cetina river, which collects the tribute of many underground streams and delivers it to the Adriatic Sea at its picturesque mouth near Omis. The Cetina river area abounds in natural attractions, such as karst coves or the unusual karst formation in Radmanovi mlinci on the top of which there are trees.

Further down the coast, above the Makarska Riviera, rises Biokovo Mountain; besides Velebit, this is probably the most dramatic encounter of mountain and sea on the Croatian coast. Attractive beaches at the foot of Biokovo came into being as a result of this encounter-because wave action turned the mountain rock into the fine gravel well-known to tourists. Since recently, the chamois live on Biokovo again.