Salona | Dalmatia

Five kilometres inland from Split, at the foot of the mountains which divide the coastal plain from the Zagora, is the sprawling dormitory suburb of Solin, a characterless modern town which has grown up beside the ruins of SALONA, erstwhile capital of Roman Dalmatia and probable birthplace of Diocletian.The town once boasted a population of around 60,000 and was an important centre of Christianity long before Constantine legalized the religion throughout the empire – prominent leaders of the faith (future saints Domnius and Anastasius among them) were famously put to death here by Diocletian in 304. It was later the seat of a powerful Byzantine bishopric until 614, when the town was comprehensively sacked by a combined force of Slays and Avars, and the local population moved off to settle in what would subsequently become Split.
Located on the northwestern fringe of Solin, the ruins of Salona (June–Sept Mon–Fri 7am-7pm, Sat 10am-7pm, Sun 4-7pm; Oct–May Mon–Fri 8am-3pm) stretch across a hillside just above the main road to Kaštela and Trogir. Bus #1 (Mon–Fri every 20-30min, Sun every hr) from Trg Gaje Bulata in central Split passes the main entrance to the ruins. En route you'll see stretches of the aqueduct built by Diocletian to bring fresh water to his palace from the hills to the north – numerous refurbishments later, it's still very much in use. Salona itself was extensively excavated at the end of the nineteenth century, and although most movable remains were packed off to museums years ago there's still a great deal to see. Pretty much an overgrown meadow scattered with weathered stones, the location is a peaceful and evocative one, giving views to the hazy industrial suburbs across the bay.
The part of the site closest to the entrance is Manastirine, an early necropolis for Christian martyrs piled high with sarcophagi around the impressive ruins of a fifth-century basilica. Within its walls are the graves of Dominus and his nephew Primus, Salona's first bishop. Nearby, the former summer villa of Don Frane Bulić (the doyen of Croatian archeology, who spent the first half of the twentieth century digging here) incorporates various Roman fragments, including gravestones, in its walls. Below Manastirine, the path leads along a stretch of old city wall as it zigzags across scrubby fields through a confusion of necropoli and ruined basilicas – most complete of which is Salona's fifth- century cathedral. Downhill to the south, the arched form of the first-century Ports Caesarea is easily identified, marking the boundary between the oldest quarters of Salona (to the west) and the so-called Urbs Nova ("New Town") to the east. What was once Salona's main east–west street heads through the gate, disappearing into modern vineyards and olive groves. Sticking to the wall-top path instead takes you westwards, past another early Christian basilica before arriving at the second-century amphitheatre. A reasonably well-preserved structure, it originally seated around 18,000 spectators and is probably the most extensive relic on the site - the grassy central space is now used to graze goats. From here you can descend to the busy Split-Zadar highway and catch a bus back to town (there's a stop served by the #37 Split-Trogir service 100m to the right), or return the way you came

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