Cathedral of Saint Domnius

Cathedral of Saint Domnius tickets: which one to buy

Split's cathedral sells several tickets and the differences matter. The cheapest covers the church alone; the standard one adds the bell tower, the crypt and the temple across the square that now serves as the baptistery; the fullest adds the treasury. Take the middle one at least, because the tower is the reason most people come and the baptistery holds the best carving on the site. Tickets are sold at a small office on the peristyle.

Walking tours of the palace quarter include the exterior and usually leave you to go in on your own, since group entry is restricted. Early-morning tours exist specifically to beat the cruise passengers and are worth the unsociable hour in July. If you are climbing the tower, know what you are getting: the stair is open on one side, steep, and not for anyone uneasy with heights. Modest dress is required in the church.

Visiting Cathedral of Saint Domnius: what to see

The building was a tomb before it was a church. Diocletian, who persecuted Christians and retired to this palace in 305, was buried in an octagonal mausoleum at its centre. Within three centuries the emperor's body had gone and the building had been consecrated to the Virgin, with a bishop martyred under his rule installed as patron, which is a reversal unmatched anywhere. Because it was converted rather than rebuilt, the structure is the oldest cathedral fabric still in use anywhere in the world, complete with the Roman frieze running round the interior at gallery level.

The wooden doors of 1214, carved with twenty-eight scenes from the life of Christ, are among the finest medieval doors in Europe. The altar of Saint Anastasius, cut by Juraj Dalmatinac in 1448, includes a flagellation relief that is the sculptural highlight. The bell tower beside it went up from the thirteenth century, was rebuilt in the early twentieth, and rises about fifty-seven metres over the palace roofs.

Cathedral of Saint Domnius opening hours and the best time to go

Split in July and August is very hot and very full, with several large ships in port at once and the peristyle used as an open-air stage in the evenings. May, June and September give the same weather with far fewer people. The tower closes in high wind and during storms. First thing in the morning is the only reliable way to have the cathedral quiet, and the light on the palace stone at that hour is the best of the day. Services interrupt visiting.

The feast of the city's patron in early May brings a procession through the old town and a fair along the waterfront. Winter is genuinely calm and many restaurants close. The palace cellars below, the fish market and the Marjan hill walk all sit within fifteen minutes. Budget an hour for the church, tower and baptistery together, and take water for the climb. Tickets are valid for the whole day, so the church and the tower can be split between morning and evening without paying twice.