"All of Split branch in blossom boom
Sunny Split in Mediterranean bloom"
Zdenko Runjić really knew how to sting into the entire beauty of the city under foot of Mount Marjan. If we look at it from high (even though impossible for Split is at level with everyone) the Mediterranean flower is really a blossomed branch that grows towards the sea and ends with the most beautiful green jewel – the unique Marjan. So let us then start our visit from – Marjan and in the company of songs for a song is an emotion and an emotion is Split. More than one hundred years ago, the late Luka Botić sang an ode to this mountain that was then - bare.
„Oh Marjan, you lonesome mountain, next to Split, next to a living city“ were the initial lyrics. And really, Marjan was then lonesome and lively Split, and that life, so cosmically perfect in its ease of existence, characteristic only of the inhabitants of Split, has spread to the bare rock above the city. The forest grew, and Marjan became the “drawing room” of all the inhabitants below him. A drawing room where one just enjoyed life. Therefore, Marijan was like medicine. A place of pilgrimage for the locals which could not be avoided by any stranger. Not only for one's own taste, but also for a closer acquaintance with the "Split state of mind" to which one can so easily become addicted.
The lyrics call us further down, down the Marijan. We spent the day under the shade of its pine trees, and when the last tired ray rests behind Marjan, then we need to descend along Križ alley to the old nucleus and reach the waterfront. We follow the “Picaferaja“ of our Oliver and Zdenko..
And here we need to enjoy the Split that once was. Namely, Veli Varoš and Lučac in the "historical sandwich" hold the nucleus of the city of Split and compete for the title of the oldest suburb. The inhabitants of Lučac boast about the old Illyrian toponym while those from Veli varoš explain their antiquity under the protection of Marjan, squeezed under its slopes.
Veli Varoš abounds in excellently preserved folk architecture and original folk ambiences. Veli Varoš should be visited by climbing slowly uphill on several occasions, in order to notice the remaining play of stones of its steep alleys and to absorb the impression of a view of the roofs from the First Viewpoint.
Among the architectural monuments, the most well-known is the church of St. Mikula from the 11th century. Besides the figures of lionesses on its portal, there is also the name of an inhabitant Ivan and his wife Tiha. The churches of Our Lady O’Soca, Holy Cross and Saint Frances are to be mentioned for they adorn Veli Varoš.
Until recently Veli Varoš was the symbol of Split fishermen who survived on daily sardines (music is once again in the legendary Split Aquarelle, an operetta by Ivo Tijardović), while today his residence quarters are being sold as gold. Veli Varoš has given Split opera singers such as Nou Matošić, Ante Marušić and Ratomir Kliškić and the journalist and publicist Miljenko Smoje.
On the waterfront you will be awaited by “Ta divna splitska noć“ (That Wonderful Split Night). The hustle and bustle, the crowds of people from the Prokurative to the Split Pazar (marketplace) enjoy and absorb the Mediterranean. On your left side, you have the eternal Diocletian’s Palace with its daily aspect but at night the play of lights and shadows give it a completely different aspect. If we pass through the legendary cellars, the iconic Peristyle will be revealed itself in front of us, next to which is the Vestibule - an ideal location for a perfect "instant shot".
The institution that is to be mentioned is– Hajduk. Those tourist who desire to have a piece of the “Split state of mind” are definitely recommended to visit Poljud – during a football match where they can witness a storm from the north or try to descend using a “ropeswing“ from the highest point of one of the best stadiums in the world. Ideal to fall in love with Hajduk as well as to get rid of the fear of heights.
There are numerous beaches that offer facilities for everyone, from the legendary and “international” Bačvice to the shady bays and coves that Marjan hides. Everyone will find something for oneself.
All that needs to be done is to dare and embark on an adventure in Split.