Antique Salona

Today's Dalmatia with its mild Mediterranean climate, harbors that welcome everyone who enters them and enchanting mountain ranges that protect it from the north was in ancient times full of Roman colonies. One of them was Salona, which became the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia in the 9th century.

Today it is the city of Solin, which is located at the mouth of the Jadro River on the eastern side of the Adriatic coast, not far from Split, with whose history Salona is closely linked.

History

The history of Salona goes back to ca. 181 BC n. e. when the Illyrian tribe Delmata inhabited the area that is now called Dalmatia (the etymology is quite clear). With the invasion of the Roman army in 117 BC n. e. translated by the general Quintus Caecilius Metellus, Salona gradually fell under Roman rule, until it was completely conquered in 76 BC. n. e. after the end of the Third Dalmatian War.

Around 33 B.C. n. e., during the reign of the Roman emperor Augustus, it received the status of a full-fledged Roman colony. From then on, the Romans turned Salona into a real Roman city. It even became the administrative center of the Roman province of Dalmatia.

At the end of the 3rd century, Emperor Diocletian ruled this province. It is believed that he was born near Salon and that he decided to build a summer house/barracks nearby for this very reason. And so in the period from 295 to 305, Diocletian's Palace was built in Split. Salona flourished as an important cultural and commercial center until the 7th century. when it fell, either in the onslaught of the Avars and then the Slavs, or gradually in the scourge of the plague.

The rest of the Salonitans fled either to nearby islands or, as they could guess , to the nearby, well-fortified Diocletian's Palace.

However, Salona was later in revived to a certain extent and today includes numerous medieval archaeological sites. Many ancient remains have been preserved, which allows us to partially reconstruct the layout of this ancient city.

City ramparts
Although it is thought to be an Illyrian settlement, which was first mentioned in 119 BC. n. e., was also surrounded by walls, most of the walls were built during the Pax Romana which lasted from the beginning of the reign of Emperor Augustus (27 BC) and ended in 180 AD with the death of Marcus Aurelius .
During this golden age of the Roman Empire, the city expanded east and west. Archaeologists today believe that Salona at its peak had about 90 towers that protected it from Germanic attacks, and the ramparts themselves were 4 km long in total.
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The towers are underwent modifications in the 5th St. During the reign of Theodosius II. Again, in the 6th century, the square towers were modified so that triangular buttresses were added to them for additional support and protection of the city. The ramparts of the oldest part of the city (urbs vetus) are still preserved together with the main city gate called Porta Cesarea. With the expansion of the city to the east and west, the urbs occidentalis (western city) and urbs orientalis (eastern city) developed, and the walls therefore also grew. This caused the construction of additional ramparts and towers during the 2nd and 3rd centuries (especially during Diocletian's reign), but also numerous other buildings.

Amphitheater

Amphitheater was one of those buildings that were built in the northwestern part of the city. It was connected to the urbs vetus by the city wall.

Although only the first one has been preserved to this day, the amphitheater had 3 floors and could accommodate between 15,000 and 18,000 spectators who would flock to watch gladiatorial fights (at least until the 5th century when battles were banned throughout the Empire). Certain advanced architectural projects made it possible to cover the entire arena with a canopy that protected everything inside from the strong sun or rain.

The amphitheater's bloody history continued into the Middle Ages. During Diocletian's persecution of Christians, the amphitheater was used to kill Christians, a considerable number of whom were later declared saints. It is ironic that one of them is St. Duje, patron saint of the city of Split, to whom the bell tower that rises above Diocletian's mausoleum (today's Split Cathedral) is dedicated.

Terme

As in every important Roman city, Salona had thermae, i.e. baths. Actually more of them. The great baths are the best preserved of all and were also built during Diocletian's reign. room for massage, exercise, rest, sauna, and contained the traditionalfrigidarium (cold bath), caldarium (hot bath)and numerous other rooms that were intended for the health care of Salonitans.

Five Arch Bridge

As with every Roman city, Salona also had two main streets – Cardo and Decumanus. In addition to enabling the crossing over the Jadro, the bridge with five arches was a continuation of the Decumanus in the eastern part of the city and was a link with Epetium (today's Stobreč), which was an important port at the time.

Tomb in Salona

How to get to Salona

Solina today covers a much larger area than was the case with ancient Salona. The archaeological site of Salona is located inside Solin, only 6 km away from Split. If you are unable to find accommodation in Solin, keep in mind that there are many properties in Split and that it is really very close.

You can get to the location by car . There is parking right at the entrance, but there are also several (unofficial) parking spaces on the opposite side, next to the amphitheater. If you arrive by bus, you should take bus no. 1 on Gaje Bulata Square in Split. He will take you straight to the main entrance of the Salon. You can also reach Salona from Trogir, which is only about 20 minutes away by bus, and even less if you go by car.

We suggest that you enter through the main (north ) entrance because then you will have the opportunity to enter through Tusculum. It was built in 1898 by the respected archaeologist, Don Frane Bulić, who dedicated his career and life to the research of Salona. Tusculum was his research base, and from the perspective of architecture and horticulture it is a wonderful example of heritage!