Diocletian's Palace, Split

The Roman emperor, Diocletian, had this palace built as his retirement residence around the end of the 3rd century. Even though it is called a palace, it is closer to a fortress than what I think of as a palace. In fact, about half of the building was a military garrison, and it was used as a refuge when the city was attacked. The palace was another place used in Game of Thrones.
The 1st picture is the palace substructure or basement. It is original, and the engineer in me is fascinated by the design and construction that is still standing and being used after all these centuries. Currently, there are market stalls among the support pillars.
The 2nd picture is of one of the gates looking into the palace. The 3rd picture is of one of the walls. The 4th and 5th pictures are of opposite sides of the peristyle courtyard. The cathedral (see another post) is behind the columns in the 5th picture. The 6th picture is looking straight up at the oculus or round opening in the roof in one of the palace rooms.Read more