Church of St Martin, Split

The little Church of St Martin in Split is located in the upper corridor of the Golden Gate of Diocletian's Palace, so it is interesting also as an example of the conversion of a Roman military structure into a house of worship. It is small, but contains several precious layers.

It arose in the 5th or 6th century in the guard passage in which there was originally a device for raising the portcullis. From the 9th century, the pre-Romanesque period, come the altar in the apse with an incised early Christian cross, the transenna on the south wall in the middle of the large walled-up Roman openings, and the barrel vault. The church received its early Romanesque bell tower in the 11th century, when the altar screen separating the nave from the sanctuary was also made. This is the only such screen in Dalmatia that has remained in its original place. Beside the church, from the 14th century, is a Dominican nuns' convent.

The church is a protected cultural property, entered in the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia under the code Z-5365.

Data: Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia (Ministry of Culture and Media), Open Licence; coordinates: Wikidata (CC0).