Sept 23, 2021
Today we are in Split, Croatia. Brenda and I decided to pass on a guided tour and walk around the town by ourselves. A key place to visit is the Diocletian’s Palace. It’s a Roman villa built by Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century. About half of the structure was a fort and the other half a personal palace. It’s an architectural gem.
What I find interesting is that many old temples got converted to Christian churches. So what you see are beautiful structures appropriated for new uses around religion. Both Roman and Christian worshippers ended up using the same spiritual spaces only in different eras. This brings to my mind the impermanence of civilizations and religions.
When I looked at the city today I could see a community split between old and new, overlapping in structures but different interests. The tourists were all clamoring to see the lovely and impressive palace while the locals scurried back and forth seemingly oblivious to the same palace.
