The Cellars of Diocletian's Palace, sometimes referred to as the "basement halls", is a set of substructures, located at the southern end of
Diocletian's Palace
Diocletian's Palace ( hr, Dioklecijanova palača, ) is an ancient palace built for the Roman emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century AD, which today forms about half the old town of Split, Croatia. While it is referred to as a "pala ...
(now the southernmost part of
Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, entertain ...
Stari grade), that once held up the private apartments of
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...
Diocletian and represent one of the best preserved ancient complexes of their kind in the world.
History
Archeological research on the substructures over the past 70 years has revealed evidence of new structures, predating the palace by two centuries.
These early Imperial Period walls are not yet fully understood. There is also an extensive network of water wells (later used in Middle Ages).
During the
later Roman empire
The Later Roman Empire spans the period from 284 AD ( Diocletian's proclamation as emperor) to 641 (death of Heraclius) in the history of the Roman Empire.
Evidence
Histories
In comparison with previous periods, studies on Later Roman history ...
, the function of the cellars was partly to elevate the
Emperor's chambers on the floor above, but they were also the storage area for foodstuffs and wine for the Palace.
Actually, a remnant of a large press, which was used in the wine production is still visible, and on display today. Being structurally a faithful replica of the chambers above, they enable a faithful reconstruction of the way the Emperor's chambers may have looked during the first stage of the palace.
The surface area of the cellars is about an eighth of the entire palace. The cellars also contained a
nymphaeum
A ''nymphaeum'' or ''nymphaion'' ( grc, νυμφαῖον), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a so ...
and a marble table (mensa) from the Emperor's dining room.
In the
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the M ...
, as refugees made their homes behind the safety of the palace walls, a part of the underground complex was used as a residential area.
Remains of this adaptation specific housing conditions during the Middle Ages are seen in the yard (15A).
In one of the halls, wine and oil were produced
as the remains of an ancient oil and wine press (
turnjačica) were found (remaining exhibited in the same spot to this day).
Later the cellars were turned into a water storage facility.
The old monastery and church of St. Klare, was located above the eastern section of the cellars. It is suggested that the eastern section of the cellars partially collapsed during this time, and resulting in the destruction of the monastery. In time, the cellars were almost forgotten, being filled in with waste material from the upper floors. However awareness of them (in
Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, entertain ...
at least) seems to have lasted, the old Split name for the substructures is "Grote" and seems the locals came to view them as a place to fear and respect, as popular belief had it they had been the dungeons where the
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...
Diocletian tortured Christians during his
Persecutions.
However, some more affluent
Splinchians who had houses above them sometimes broke through their vaults and redesigned them into their own storerooms and basement spaces.
In the 19th century, work began, to excavate, drain and clear the collapsed sections of the Cellars,
by architect and conservationist
Vicko Andrić
Vicko Andrić (March 23, 1793 – January 15, 1866) was a Croatian architect.
Early life and education
The architect and renovator Vicko Andrić was born in Trogir on March 23, 1793. His family, father Josip and mother Antica were inhabitan ...
, the first
Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, entertain ...
and
Croatian
Croatian may refer to:
* Croatia
*Croatian language
*Croatian people
*Croatians (demonym)
See also
*
*
* Croatan (disambiguation)
* Croatia (disambiguation)
* Croatoan (disambiguation)
* Hrvatski (disambiguation)
* Hrvatsko (disambiguation)
* S ...
conservationist.
The work continued through 1950s when the basement's western halls were open to the public in 1959,
while those of the eastern part, with the completion of extensive restoration and conservation, works only completed and opened to the public in 1996. Today the cellars are accessible through the
Bronze Gate, or through a staircase from the Peristyle. The Western part of the basement has been preserved in its entirety and is almost completely accessible for sightseeing, used as an attractive fair
and exhibition space. The Eastern part has collapsed, most likely during Middle Age, however, it has since been excavated and a large part is also accessible.
Description
The cellars entrance starts/terminates at the
Cardo maximus within the palace, approaching from the
peristyle
In ancient Greek and Roman architecture, a peristyle (; from Greek ) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. Tetrastoön ( grc, τετράστῳον or τετράστοον, lit=fou ...
and the
Porta Aenea. The massive barrel-vaulted cellars
are shaped in the construction of the Palace in a downward-facing position to level the southern, residential part of the Palace with other parts of the Palace. Their spaces have a variety of forms: basilic, central, central – cross, rectangular, etc. The walls served them as the basis of Imperial dwelling buildings above them, and their forms of space probably coincided with the shape of those buildings that disappeared by molding houses and streets of Split in the Middle Ages.
Gallery
Split2006.2.JPG, The Vestibule leading to the cellars of the Palace.
File:Split D81 3055 (38620797821).jpg, Cellars of Diocletian's Palace.
File:Split D81 3059 (38564116746).jpg, Cellars of Diocletian's Palace.
File:Split D81 3061 (37903099964).jpg, Cellars of Diocletian's Palace.
File:Split D81 3065 (24748413408).jpg, Cellars of Diocletian's Palace.
File:Split D81 3066 (26844247179).jpg, Cellars of Diocletian's Palace.
See also
*
Diocletian's Palace
Diocletian's Palace ( hr, Dioklecijanova palača, ) is an ancient palace built for the Roman emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century AD, which today forms about half the old town of Split, Croatia. While it is referred to as a "pala ...
*
Vestibule, Split
* The
Bronze Gate (Diocletian's Palace)
* The
Iron Gate (Diocletian's Palace)
* The
Silver Gate (Diocletian's Palace)
* The
Golden Gate (Diocletian's Palace)
*
Roman architecture
Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans, but was different from Greek buildings, becoming a new architectural style. The two styles are often considered o ...
*
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, stre ...
References
Further reading
*
Weitzmann, Kurt, ed.,
Age of spirituality: late antique and early Christian art, third to seventh century', no. 104, 1979,
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 100 ...
, New York, ; full text available online from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries
External links
Zlatna vrata u Splitu – putovnica.net(accessed 23 June 2019.)
(accessed 23 June 2019.)
Zlatna vrata – visitsplit.com(accessed 23 June 2019.)
{{Landmarks in Dalmatia
World Heritage Sites in Croatia
Archaeological sites in Croatia
Buildings and structures in Split, Croatia
Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Croatia
Romanesque architecture
Tourist attractions in Split-Dalmatia County
Diocletian