Cathedral of Saint Domnius

The Cathedral of Saint Domnius, known locally as the Sveti Dujam or colloquially Sveti Duje, is the Catholic cathedral in Split, Croatia [1]. 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 [1]. When the Avars and Slavs destroyed Salona in the 7th century, part of the population fled to the nearby islands [1]. After some time, a portion of these refugees returned to the mainland and settled within the abandoned imperial palace of Diocletian's Palace [1]. They converted the emperor’s mausoleum into a Christian church [1]. The interior of the church is circular in plan, covered by a dome and articulated by square and semicircular niches that once housed statues of gods and emperors [1]. Of particular interest are two ribbon-framed medallions, which archaeologists and local tradition in Split identify as portraits of Emperor Diocletian and his wife Prisca [1]. One of the cathedral’s most celebrated features is its wooden doors, carved in walnut in 1214 by the Split native Andrija Buvina [1].