DIOCLETIAN'S PALACE: Palace of Places

The ancient palace of Emperor Diocletian forms a part of today`s historic core of the city of Split - the second largest city in Croatia. Due to its dual role of the greatest monument and the most important public space of the city, it generates conflicts between conservation and development, private and public, dwelling and tourism. The author`s primary interest, herself being an urban designer with experience in heritage conservation, is the open public space of Diocletian`s palace, constantly undergoing transformation just like society. For the first time, the analyses of public space modelled upon the legendary map of Rome by Giambattista Nolli have been applied on this area. Furthermore, the urban activity patterns throughout the history facilitate the understanding of this space as one whole consisting of a number of smaller wholes, each with its own more or less pronounced identity. The book takes us on a jurney through space and time, from ancient times to the present day, and using a new perspective on space, proposes a number of constructive stimuli for its future. Additionally, the book serves as an alternative guide to Diocletian`s palace as a multilayered monument, Classical Antiquity presenting just one of the existing layers; where the static perception of monument is juxtaposed with coexistence of traces of times and their living, dynamic identity and which provides the freedom to explore new possibilities.