Hôtels à proximité de Peristyle Square
Peristyle Square, locally called Peristil, is the central ceremonial courtyard of Diocletian’s Palace, right in Split’s Old Town.
Pourquoi dormir près de Peristyle Square
Peristyle Square, locally called Peristil, is the central ceremonial courtyard of Diocletian’s Palace, right in Split’s Old Town. Built in the late 3rd to early 4th century AD, it’s where Emperor Diocletian once appeared before his subjects. Today it’s a free, open public square that you simply walk into while exploring the palace streets. What sets it apart is how compact it is: within a small space you’re surrounded by Roman columns, the Cathedral of St. Domnius, the Vestibule, and an Egyptian sphinx that was already ancient when it arrived here. It feels less like a monument you enter and more like a place the city still uses every day.
À propos de Peristyle Square
Peristyle was designed as the formal heart of Diocletian’s retirement palace, completed around AD 305. From beneath the Protyron arch, the emperor addressed citizens who approached the square in carefully staged rituals. The red granite columns weren’t decorative flourishes; the color was associated with imperial authority and reinforced Diocletian’s status.
After the Roman Empire declined, the palace didn’t empty out. People kept living inside its walls, and Peristyle gradually shifted roles. Diocletian’s mausoleum became the Cathedral of St. Domnius during the medieval period, turning the square into a religious center rather than an imperial court. One of the most unusual survivals is the Egyptian sphinx on the eastern side, dating to around 1500 BC and brought from Egypt by Diocletian. This continuous use is a key reason Diocletian’s Palace, including Peristyle, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979.
