Palace by the Golden Gate, Split

In Split's city core, right next to the Golden Gate of Diocletian's Palace, stands a late Gothic house from the second half of the 15th century. Its design and construction are linked to Juraj Dalmatinac. Its name comes precisely from this neighbourhood, because the noble family for which it was built is unknown, and its coat of arms remains in the lunette of the portal leading to the courtyard.

It was later owned by the Cindri, an old Split noble lineage, so their coat of arms can be seen above the capital of the courtyard loggia. The courtyard with its loggia and staircase, the loggia on the upper floor, and the façade of the Romanesque palace along Diocletian Street were restored in 1960. The most interesting part is the upper porch of the courtyard façade: there Juraj Dalmatinac joins the capitals not with arches but with a straight beam, thereby reshaping the usual Gothic pattern and making a personal contribution to the residential architecture of the period.

Since the restoration, a catering establishment has operated on the ground floor, and the Zlatna vrata Centre for Culture and Lifelong Learning on the upper floor. This use is regarded as a good example of thoughtful revitalisation of the historic core of the city. The palace is a protected cultural property, entered in the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia under the code Z-6663.

Photo: Argo Navis, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Data: Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia (Ministry of Culture and Media), Open Licence; coordinates: Wikidata (CC0).