470 SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp502–505 and pp506–507
Salona 7
Excavated remains of the Necropolis of ManastirineExploring Salona
At the end of the 19th century,
excavations began to bring
to light the buried remains of
this ancient settlement. The
work revealed that the town
had two districts dating from
different periods: the original,
Old Town (Urbs Vetus) and a
later part which dates from
the Augustan-era (Urbs Nova
Occidentalis and Urbs Nova
Orientalis). The exca vations
have uncov ered only a part
of the layout of the Outer
Walls, which were fre quently
reinforced over the cen turies.
However, the founda tions and
the remains of the towers,
with triangular or rectan gular
bases, are still visible.
The tour usually begins
from the site closest to the
entrance, the Necropolis of
Manastirine, a burial area
just outside the walls,
north of the town.
In the 4th century,
a religious building
was con structed
here to house the
relics of the Salonian
saints, victims of
Emperor Diocletian’s
perse cu tion of
Christians. The ruins
of the necro po lis
and the basilica are
well preserved.
Located near
Manastirine is the
Tusculum, a villa
with interesting
sculp tures embedded
in the walls and the garden.
It was built for the distin-
guished archaeologist Frane
Bulić (1846–1934) to enable
him to study the ruins of
Salona. A scholar and director
of the Archaeological Museum
(see p467) in Split, Bulić
devoted much of his life toresearching the ancient city.
The building is now a small
museum, but the most
interest ing finds are now
housed in the Archaeological
Museum in Split.
Further on is the richest
area of ruins with the found a-
tions of baths, the Caesarea
Gate and early-Christian
basilicas. The Baths were
built in the 1st century when
the town became the capital
of the province of Dalmatia.
In the early Christian period,
the build ings were probably
trans for med into religious
build ings such as those in
the Bishop’s Complex in the
northeastern part of ancient
Salona. This comprised basil-
icas, a baptistry and the
bishop’s residence. Before
Christianity became wide-
spread, several early Christian
martyrs were slayed here,
including St Domnius,
(patron saint of Split) and
Sts Venantius and Anastasius.
The foundations of two
basilicas have been exca-
vated: the Urban Basilica,Ruins of the town walls and triangular tower
The ancient town of Salona, 5 km
(3 miles) from Split, is famous for its
Roman ruins, scattered among meadows,
olive groves and vineyards. The name
Salona derives from the salt works in the
area, the Latin for salt being sal. Originally
an Illyrian settlement, it later came under
Greek control, but only became an imp or-
tant cen tre when the Romans built a town
next to the Greek city. Under the rule of
Augustus, it became a Roman colony called Martia Julia
Salonae, and in due course was made capital of the
Dalmatian province. In the 1st century AD, the Romans
built theatres, temples, town walls, towers and an
amp hi theatre, and Salona became the rich est and most
popu lous town in the mid-Adriatic. In 614, it was
destroyed by the Avars and Slavs; the buildings were
stripped and the stone used for new structures.
Detail of the
TusculumMain road leading to Salona