St Domnius Cathedral and the Bell Tower Climb

What it is

The cathedral of St Domnius (Katedrala Svetog Duje) occupies the mausoleum that Diocletian had built inside his palace around the year 305. It is the seat of the Archdiocese of Split-Makarska and is considered the oldest Catholic cathedral in the world still in use in its original structure. The irony is well known: the emperor who persecuted Christians ended up with his tomb turned into a church, and dedicated in part to a martyr he had executed. Domnius (Duje) was bishop of Salona and was beheaded there in 304.

When Avars and Slavs destroyed Salona in the 7th century, some of its inhabitants took refuge in the abandoned palace. They turned the mausoleum into a church, destroyed the emperor's sarcophagus and brought from the Salona basilicas the relics of St Domnius and St Anastasius. Formally, the church is dedicated to the Virgin and the bell tower to St Domnius; together they form the cathedral.

What you see inside

From outside the building is octagonal; it was surrounded by a portico of 24 columns. Inside, the space is circular, with four semicircular niches and four rectangular ones. Above rise eight Corinthian columns of red granite and, on them, another ring of eight smaller columns. Notice the frieze that runs round the hall: cupids hunting, theatre masks and heads, and two medallions that tradition identifies with Diocletian and his wife Prisca. The dome is brick and was once covered in mosaics, like that of the palace Vestibule.

Besides the church, the complex includes the treasury and other spaces visited with the same ticket depending on the combination you choose.

The bell tower

The Romanesque bell tower was begun in the 12th century and is the tallest thing in the old town. The climb is by narrow stone stairs inside the tower and the last stretch is an open metal staircase, with the void in view: it is not for anyone with vertigo. At the top you see the whole palace from above, the harbour, the Riva, Marjan and the islands of Brač and Šolta.

Tickets and hours

Tickets are sold next to the Peristyle, the colonnaded square in front of the cathedral. There are separate and combined tickets for the cathedral, the bell tower and the other spaces in the complex. The price and hours change with the season, and the church may close to visits during Mass: check the ticket office information or ask at the Split tourist office before going. As it is a church in use, enter with shoulders and knees covered.

How long

About 20 minutes for the church and another 20 or 30 to go up and down the bell tower, depending on how many people are on the stairs.

Getting there

The cathedral is in the centre of the palace, above the Peristyle. From the Riva you reach it in two minutes along the central passage of the palace substructures, which comes out right at the foot of the stairs. The old town is pedestrian.

With children

The church is seen quickly and children usually notice the columns and the frieze. The bell tower is not for small children or anyone who does not do well with heights: the last steps are open-work metal.

When to go

First thing, before the guided groups reach the Peristyle, or at the end of the afternoon, when the light comes in from the side onto the square. In high summer, better to climb the bell tower before midday.