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The story of Diocletian's Palace

Diocletian's Palace

At the end of the 3rd century Diocletian built this fortified palace on a peninsula near Salona, capital of Dalmatia and his birthplace, ready for his abdication on 1 May 305. About half of it was his private residence; the rest housed the garrison. Its white limestone came from the island of Brač.

When he was later begged to return to power, Diocletian famously replied that if they could see the cabbages he had planted with his own hands, they would never suggest he trade the peace of this place for the storms of greed. He died here in 312. The palace's second life began in the 7th century, when Salona was destroyed by Avars and Slavs and refugees took shelter inside its walls.

Today it forms about half of Split's old town, with some 3,000 people living in it, and since 1979 it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This story is compiled from Wikipedia and other open sources; dates and numbers are checked against the source. The text is shared under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Source ↗

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