Golden Gate | |
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Native name Croatian: Zlatna vrata | |
![]() The Golden Gate (Porta Aurea) May 2018 | |
Type | Gatehouse |
Location | Split, Croatia |
Coordinates | 43°30′33″N16°26′26″E / 43.50917°N 16.44056°E |
Built | 4th century AD |
Built by | Diocletian |
Architectural style(s) | Roman |
The Golden Gate (Croatian : Zlatna vrata, Latin : Porta Aurea), or "the Northern Gate", is one of the four principal Roman gates into the stari grad (old town) of Split. Built as the main gate of Diocletian's Palace, it was elaborately decorated to mark its status. Over the course of the Middle Ages, the gate was sealed off and lost its columns and statuary. It was reopened and repaired in modern times and now serves as a tourist attraction.
The gate stood at a terminal point of the road which led north towards Salona, Diocletian's birthplace and the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia. It was probably used by Diocletian to enter the palace after his abdication from the imperial throne on 1 May 305. [1] The Romans of late antiquity called the structure Porta Septemtrionalis ("Northern Gate"). In the Middle Ages, its name was changed to Porta Romae ("Roman Gate"); [2] the name "Golden Gate" seems to date from the Renaissance, making its first appearance in the 1553 itinerary of the Venetian trade unions Died and Giustiniana. [3]
Amid the upheavals of the Migration Period in the 6th century, small churches were built over the Golden, Silver, Iron, and Bronze gates. Dedicated to St. Martin, the church of the Golden Gate occupies a narrow corridor (1.64 x 10 meters), [4] which had been used as a guard passageway in the time of Diocletian. St. Martin's Church was later augmented by a pre-Romanesque bell tower. Demolished in the 19th century, this was similar in style to the still-surviving bell tower of the Church of Our Lady of Zvonik above the Iron Gate.
The sieges of the early Middle Ages prompted the town's inhabitants to close off the gate, using a smaller and more defensible passageway in its place. In more settled times, a new gate, the Door of Picture, permanently superseded the Golden Gate as the main entrance to the city on the north side.
In or around 1630, the Venetian governor Alvise Zorzi ordered the disassembly of eleven Roman towers on the north and east sides of the palace wall, sending the stone blocks to Venice to be used in the construction of Santa Maria della Salute. Among the casualties of this project were the two octagonal towers flanking the Golden Gate. [5] The gate was only re-opened in 1857, [3] in an undertaking which necessitated the demolition of houses which had been built up against the north wall of the palace. Much accumulated earth was cleared away, but around 2 meters of the gate and wall remain below ground level. The most recent reconstruction was carried out by the metropolis in the first years of the new millennium, with the gate covered in a building wrap from 2012 until 2015. As of 2020, the structure was open to the public.
The Porta Septemtrionalis was the "main landward gate" of Diocletian's palace, [6] located in the middle of the northern wall. Its exterior opening measures 4.17 by 4.36 meters; above the lintel is a 3.02-meter-high arch composed of 19 stone blocks. [7] The double doors of the gate were set into this opening, which could also be closed by a portcullis. [8] Between the inner and outer openings of the gate is a courtyard (propugnaculum), once overseen by guard passageways built into its upper walls. The inner gate opens onto the Cardo Maximus, at whose opposite end is the Bronze Gate. Centuries of soil accumulation at the base of the wall have reduced the openings in the gate from 6.5 to fewer than 4.5 meters in height. [3]
Set into the facade of the gate are five niches, two on each side of the central arch and one above. Four of these once housed statues of the Tetrarchs: Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius and Constantius Chlorus. [9] Modern restorers note that the fifth, central niche was made too shallow to hold a statue, to leave room for the portcullis to retract into the upper part of the gate. The same examination found no evidence of statues having stood in the other niches, and the restorers express doubt that the decoration of the gate was ever finished. [10]
The upper three niches are incorporated into a blind arcade of seven arches. Formerly the arches were supported by columns, whose bases stood on corbels projecting from the facade. These columns have since disappeared, although five of their capitals remain, still affixed to the underside of the arcade. [8] The undersides of the corbels are decorated with carved acanthus, with the exception of those immediately over the gateway, which display sculptures of small humanoid faces with horns (one set of which has been broken off) and animals' ears. A modern scholar found these faces "not unlike medieval devils" in appearance. [8] Above the arcade are four plinths; some reconstructions of the gate prefer these, rather than the niches, as the location of the Tetrarchs' portrait statues. [11] John Bryan Ward-Perkins sees the style of the gate as influenced by the architectural practices of the eastern Roman provinces, particularly Syria. He cites such "typically Syrian" features as the "combination of an open arch with a horizontal lintel [and] the bracketing out on consoles of [the] decorative arcade". [12]
The outer gate was defended by two octagonal towers, since lost. The surface of each tower on the ground floor was about 60m2, the inner diameter 8.53m, and the side 3.41 m. There were no corresponding structures on the inner face of the gate. The towers and their connecting walkways could be entered only through passages built into the palace wall and had no doorways on the ground floor. [13]
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In architecture, a niche is a recess or cavity constructed in the thickness of a wall for the reception of decorative objects such as statues, busts, urns, and vases. In Classical architecture examples are an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size, retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse. In the first century B.C, there was no exact mention of niches, but rather a zotheca or small room. These rooms closely resemble alcoves similar to a niche but slightly larger. Different sizes and sculpture methods suggest the term niche was understood. Greeks and Romans especially, used niches for important family tombs.
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Diocletian's Palace was built at the end of the third century AD as a residence for the Roman emperor Diocletian, and today forms about half of the old town of Split, Croatia. While it is referred to as a "palace" because of its intended use as the retirement residence of Diocletian, the term can be misleading as the structure is massive and more resembles a large fortress: about half of it was for Diocletian's personal use, and the rest housed the military garrison.
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The architecture of Croatia has roots in a long history: the Croats have inhabited the area for fourteen centuries, but there are important remnants of earlier periods still preserved in the country. The historic architecture of most old towns on the coast is Venetian, a legacy of the Venetian empire. The Habsburg and Ottoman empires also influenced the architecture of the region.
The Cathedral of Saint Domnius, known locally as the Sveti Dujam or colloquially Sveti Duje, is the Catholic cathedral in Split, Croatia. The cathedral is the seat of the Archdiocese of Split-Makarska, currently headed by Archbishop Zdenko Križić. The Cathedral of St. Domnius is a complex of a church, formed from an Imperial Roman mausoleum, with a bell tower; strictly the church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and the bell tower to Saint Domnius. Together they form the Cathedral of St. Domnius.
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The Temple of Jupiter(Croatian: Jupiterov hram) is a temple in Split, Croatia dedicated to the Ancient Roman god Jupiter. It is located in the western part of Diocletian's Palace near the Peristyle, the central square of the imperial complex. It was built between 295 and 305, during the construction of the Palace, and was probably turned into a Baptistery of St. John the Baptist in the 6th century, at the same time when the crypt dedicated to St. Thomas was built. Before the entrance to the Temple is one of the twelve sphinxes brought from Egypt by Emperor Diocletian. Scottish architect Robert Adam considered this temple to be one of Europe's most beautiful monuments.
St. Martin's Church is a Roman Catholic church in Split, Croatia. Built into a small space within the ancient Golden Gate of Diocletian's northern wall, it is one of the oldest churches in the city. St. Martin's Church is one of Split's tourist attractions and is known for its fine 11th century chancel screen. It is currently in the care of the Dominican sisters, who have a monastery next door. The church itself is open to public visits.
The Iron Gate, or "the Western Gate", is one of the four principal Roman gates into the stari grad of Split that was once Diocletian's Palace. Originally a military gate from which troops entered the complex, the gate is the only one to have remained in continuous use to the present day.
The Silver Gate, or "the Eastern Gate", is one of the four principal Roman gates into the stari grad of Split that was once Diocletian's Palace. The gate faces east towards the Roman town of Epetia, today Stobreč.
The Vestibule, also known as The Rotonda or The Atrium, is the first section of the imperial corridor in Diocletian's Palace that led from the Peristyle, which was once the formal entrance to the imperial apartments.
The Cellars of Diocletian's Palace, sometimes referred to as the "basement halls", is a set of substructures, located at the southern end of Diocletian's Palace, that once held up the private apartments of Emperor Diocletian and represent one of the best preserved ancient complexes of their kind in the world.
The Bronze Gate, or "the Southern Gate", is the smaller of the four principal Roman gates into the stari grad of Split. Built as part of Diocletian's Palace, it was originally a sea gate from which the Emperor entered the complex by boat. Today it is the main entry point from the promenade to the cathedral.
The Belltower of the Church of Our Lady of the Belfry is a disused Roman Catholic church in Split, Croatia. Built into a small space within the ancient Iron Gate of Diocletian's western wall. Today little survives of the building, apart from the belltower, one of the oldest in Croatia.
The Croatian Association of Visual Artists in Split is a nonprofit, nonpartisan professional association for visual artists, founded in 1945. Being the only association of that sort in the Split-Dalmatia County, HULU plays a central role in the contemporary art scene of Split, often as the primary and only bearer of cultural life in the city.
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