Saturday, September 5, 2015

Sun, Sea & Split = Croatia

"Croatia, Full of Life" is the brand new slogan of Croatia. It does a great job of presenting the highlights of the country: fascinating nature, destinations of cultural and historical importance and gastronomical delights.

Split


The Riva, Split's seafront promenade, runs the length of the old town and is one of Europe's finest.



The Roman Emperor Diocletian chose this spot to build his lavish retirement palace in AD295. 

Today, despite centuries of additions, the palace remains the heartbeat of Split's old town; a unique mix of architecture in a maze of narrow streets.

The palace was built from lustrous white stone from the island of Brač, and construction lasted 10 years.


Peristyle was formerly the palace's central courtyard. All the main sights of the Split old town are a short walk from this beautiful square.

Diocletian spared no expense, importing marble from Italy and Greece, and columns and sphinxes from Egypt.

Krka National Park

The Krka park admission includes a boat ride from a pretty little riverside town of Skradin through the canyon to Skradinski Buk. 


Skradinski Buk's 800 meter long cascade descends by almost 46 meters before crashing into the lower lake, which is a popular swimming spot. 

Krka National Park is one of the most beautiful nature spots in Croatia.



Kastela



Exceptional climate conditions in Dalmatian coast are very generous towards wine grapes that are exposed  to sun almost 280 days a year.


Dalmatian wines are, in general, stronger than wines in Croatian continental areas. They have specific taste that can not be compared with any other wine sorts.



Trogir


 The stunning Unesco-listed city of Trogir can be reached by ferry from Split.

The ancient town of Tragurion (island of goats) was founded as a trading settlement by Greek colonists from the island of Vis in the 3rd century BC.
Since 1997, the historic centre of Trogir has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.



Fortress Kamerlengo was built by Venetians in Xlll - XV century as a naval base for their navy forces in this part of Adriatic.

Nowadays, fortress is multimedia center with open air cinema and stage for various cultural events. 




Aperol Spritz: 3 parts prosecco, 2 parts Aperol and a splash of club soda.


Split - Mestrovic Gallery



The Ivan Mestrovic Palace was built in Split between 1931 and 1939.

Mestrovic himself made the original plans based on his own design and the architects Harold Bilinic and Lavoslav Horvat developed them.


Today the Mestrovic gallery holdings contain 192 sculptures.