What you will find in this article:
This trip dates back to the summer of 2017 and is one of those I like to call a little “wild” because I set off on motorbike from Verona with my tent on my back, without having booked any campsites, hostels or similar. This was because I had a basic plan but I didn’t want to get too tied up, the idea was to experience the journey day by day.
The tour lasted a week: I left Verona and returned to Italy by ferry from Dubrovnik to Bari.
What to see:
Rijeka
Rijeka, the capital of Croatia, is a pretty city nestled between the sea and the mountains.
Strolling along the main street of the historic center, you can admire numerous elegant buildings that, thanks to their different styles, allow us to retrace the history of the city.
The harbor area is very lively and characteristic, the colors at sunset are breathtaking.
Zadar
I arrived in Zadar in the evening and took the opportunity to visit the city at night.
The historic center is very nice, I would like to point out the Porta del Mare, one of the four ancient gates that open along the Roman and medieval walls of the city. This gate dates back to the sixteenth century but stands on an earlier Roman triumphal arch. Note the lion of St. Mark on the door, a clear symbol of Venetian influence.
Visit the Five Wells Square, where you can still see the wells built during the Turkish invasions to ensure the city has the necessary water resources. In the first half of the 19th century this square was converted into a public garden, the first in Dalmatia, and is still one of the most characteristic places in the city today.
Finally, I recommend a visit to the port area to admire the two modern installations that combine human ingenuity and nature, the Marine Organ and the Sun Salutation, both works by Croatian architect Nikola Bašić.
Sibenik
In my opinion, Šibenik was the real surprise of this trip: a little gem overlooking the sea, where time seems to have stood still.
Within the historic center, the highlight is undoubtedly the Cathedral of St. James, considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built in Renaissance style starting in 1431, it boasts the collaboration of Croatian and Venetian architects and sculptors. A peculiarity of the church is the frieze that adorns the cornices with 74 sculpted heads: the faces with various expressions such as boredom, pride, tranquility and joy depict the citizens of Šibenik who contributed financially to the construction of the cathedral in the 15th century. Tradition has it that the heads carved in a more coarse way are those of the people who proved most stingy in their donations.
Strolling through the ancient streets of the historic center, I recommend immersing yourself in the medieval garden of the convent of San Lorenzo, which you will access through a stone portal: you will immediately find yourself surrounded by a variety of plants, from medicinal to ornamental.
Trogir
The next stop on this road trip is Trogir, a city that boasts over two thousand years of history and thanks to the remarkable number of buildings that testify to its evolution over time, has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The historic center is enclosed in a small island protected by the city walls, accessible from the mainland only by two bridges. The seafront, on the other hand, is the meeting point for anyone who wants to enjoy the city’s nightlife.
I would particularly like to point out the Cathedral of San Lorenzo, a Venetian work dating back to the 13th century, with its wonderful Romanesque portal, on the sides of which you will find the statues of Adam and Eve resting on Venetian lions. The 47-meter-high bell tower offers panoramic views of the city and nearby islands.
You will also notice Kamerlengo Castle, a medieval fortress built in the 15th century by the Venetians as part of the city’s defensive system. Today it is used to host film exhibitions and theatrical performances.
Split
Split is undoubtedly a must-see for a trip to Croatia: it houses the mythical Diocletian’s Palace, a splendid example of Roman architecture among the best preserved, built by Emperor Diocletian between 293 and 305, as his residence.
Don’t let the name fool you; it’s a sort of city within a city, structured with the typical layout of Roman military camps: two perpendicular streets, the cardo and the decumanus, which intersect, forming four separate areas.
At the corners are four large towers, four other smaller towers on three sides, and a gate on each wall. In addition to the access doors, there are no other openings in the lower part of the walls, while on the upper floor there is a monumental portico on the southern facade and corridors with arched windows along the other three sides.
The original function of the palace was a mixture of imperial residence and military fortress: the southern half of the palace was intended for the emperor and his entourage, while the northern part was intended for the imperial guard, soldiers, servants, warehouses. Today inside the building there are more than 200 buildings, many of which are inhabited or used as shops, bars and restaurants.
Inside Diocletian’s Palace the most interesting buildings are:
- The Cathedral of San Domnio: inside it, the heritage of pagan antiquity, that of the Christian Middle Ages and that belonging to the modern era merge. The cathedral stands on the mausoleum of Emperor Diocletian, was converted into a place of worship in the 7th century AD, at the time of the persecutions against Christians, and is still an important liturgical place today. Note the wooden doors of the entrance, the work of the sculptor Andrija Buvina, with the representation of scenes from the Gospel. The cathedral bell tower, 57m high, is the most original medieval Dalmatian construction, begun in the 13th century.
- The Golden Gate: the main access to the palace, its facade is decorated with niches that housed the sculptures of the four tetraks (Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius and Constantius Chlorus). From this gate, connected with the Peristyle and the Thistle, the road led directly to Salona, capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia, and only the emperor and his family could use it.
- The Vestibule: the ancient entrance to the imperial rooms, it is a quadrangular building on the outside, with a circular plan on the inside and it seems that in ancient times it was crowned by a large dome decorated with a polychrome mosaic.
- the Peristyle: it forms the heart of Split, the central square of the palace around which several temples once stood, dedicated to the emperor Diocletian and located three steps lower than the surrounding streets. It is said that the emperor appeared under the arch of the central architrave, his subjects approached him and knelt and kissed the edges of his purple cloak. Thanks to its particular beauty and unusual acoustics, the Peristyle has become a theatrical stage.
- The dungeons: this is one of the best preserved ancient complexes of this kind. Their original function was to raise the overlying spaces of the emperor’s apartments, no longer visible today, but they also served as warehouses for the Palace. Since the underground rooms repeated the layout of the rooms on the upper floor in plan, today they allow us to reconstruct the appearance of the imperial rooms.
Dubrovnik
This city is perhaps the best known in Croatia, thanks not only to its undeniable beauty, but also to the fame achieved through the series “Game of Thrones“, some of whose scenes were filmed within the walls of Dubrovnik, the famous “King’s Landing” of the series.
What to see in Dubrovnik:
- The Onofrio Fountain: At the eastern end of the “Stradun”, the main street of the city, is this fountain, built in 1438 as part of a supply system that involved transporting water from a well located 12 km away. This fountain was originally decorated with sculptures, but was severely damaged by the earthquake of 1667. Today it preserves only 16 sculpted masks, from whose mouths water flows out and ends up in a collection tank.
- The walls: this is one of the best-preserved fortification systems in Europe, dating back to the 13th century, which can be traversed (preferably except during the hottest hours in summer because it is completely exposed to the sun), approximately two kilometers long, includes five forts and sixteen towers.
- Lovrjenac Fort: built in the early 11th century on top of a hill almost 40 metres above sea level to protect the city from the Venetian threat, the fort served as a defensive bastion and watchtower and has become a symbol of Dubrovnik’s resistance, in fact at its entrance you can read the Latin inscription “Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro“, meaning “Freedom does not sell for all the gold in the world.” Today the fort is used as a venue for performances, such as the Dubrovnik Summer Festival. Additionally, fans of “Game of Thrones” will be able to visit the famous “Red Fortress“, which is Fort Lovrijenac itself.
- The Rector’s Palace: One of the most important examples of Croatian civil architecture, built in the 14th century as the administrative center of the Dubrovnik Republic, the palace is a Gothic-style building, with later additions in Renaissance and Baroque styles. Within its walls lived the Rector of Dubrovnik during his one-month term and subsequently the palace was also used as an armory, arsenal, court and prison.
- The Sponza Palace: a magnificent building in Gothic-Renaissance style, built in the 16th century, with an internal courtyard featuring a loggia resting on six columns. Originally the seat of the Customs House and later of a Mint, the building is now home to the State Archives.
- The church of San Biagio: in Baroque style, dating back to 1348, built on a pre-existing Romanesque church and rebuilt several times throughout history due to earthquakes and fires, is dedicated to San Biagio, patron saint of the city.
- The Church of St. Ignatius: A Jesuit church in Baroque style, with a single nave, its bell tower houses the oldest bell in Dubrovnik.
- Church of San Nicolò: of this small and graceful pre-Romanesque church (11th century) today only the apse remains; the late Renaissance façade is crowned by a bell gable, inside which is a Gothic-style statue of San Nicolò.
- Dubrovnik Synagogue: Founded in 1352, it is one of the oldest in the world. Inside is the museum of Jewish art, with documents and artifacts on the lives of the local Jewish population and the persecution they suffered during the Second World War.
Last but not least…
I leave you some photos of delicacies I have tasted and the wonderful sea of this land!
