| "body"> | | | | the most complete surviving episcopal complex of its |
| Historical Complex of Split with the Palace of Diocletian | | | | type, the sixth century Euphrasian Basilica boasts |
| (Inscribed 1979) | | | | some of the Europe's finest mosaics, matched only by |
| Split literally grew out of the palace that the Roman | | | | their counterparts in Ravenna, which were executed |
| Emperor Diocletian (245-312), a native of the nearby | | | | by many of the same artisans. As well as their degree |
| city of Salona, built as what may have been history's | | | | of artistry and preservation, these masterworks are |
| first retirement home. Much of the original structure still | | | | highly enjoyable for their small touches - including the |
| remains - both in the form of the original walls and the | | | | presence of an eavesdropping servant in the mosaic |
| various buildings constructed out of stone pilfered from | | | | on the right side of the altar and the portrait of the |
| it in Split's Old Town, which the walls encompass. | | | | eponymous Bishop Euphrasius himself, believed to be |
| Interestingly, although Diocletian was notorious for his | | | | one of the earliest depictions of a living figure in sacred |
| persecution of Christians, the complex includes world's | | | | art. |
| oldest Cathedral, dedicated to St. Dominius. Its | | | | Historic City of Trogir |
| bell-tower offers wonderful views both over the Old | | | | (Inscribed 1997) |
| Town and the Adriatic, which once came up to the | | | | Poised delicately between mainland Dalmatia and the |
| walls of the palace. | | | | much larger island of Čiovo, Trogir is either a |
| Old City of Dubrovnik | | | | natural or artificial island, depending on who you ask. |
| (Inscribed 1979, Inscription Extended in 1994) | | | | What's not in dispute is that it's one of Europe's most |
| Not only is Dubrovnik one of the world's most | | | | tastefully planned towns, adhering to a grid-plan first |
| attractive cities - both in its appearance and its location, | | | | drawn up by the ancient Greeks and substantially |
| it's probably Europe's best-preserved historic city. It's | | | | unchanged since then. It's not just Trogir's streets that |
| entirely pedestrianized and a local ordinance prohibiting | | | | have been preserved, the buildings lining them have in |
| signs anywhere but on lanterns outside of shops | | | | many cases been left undisturbed for centuries, |
| means that strolling through it on a quiet night you could | | | | although quite of few of them contain some of |
| be forgiven for believing you'd literally been transported | | | | Dalmatia's finest seafood restaurants. In addition to its |
| back in time. The two kilometers of city walls that | | | | inherent charms, Trogir also offers visitors in a hurry |
| enclose it repulsed invaders during the city's four | | | | mainland Croatian's closet counterpart to the |
| centuries as an independent republic and again when it | | | | wonderfully laid-back island towns of the Dalmatian |
| came under attack during the early 1990s - today they | | | | islands. |
| offer a pleasant means for coming to appreciate this | | | | The Cathedral of St James in Sibenik |
| city, the beauty of whose buildings is only matched by | | | | (Inscribed 2000) |
| that of its location. | | | | It's appropriate that this Cathedral (built between |
| Plitvice Lakes National Park | | | | 1431-1535) should be selected to represent "the |
| (Inscribed 1979, Inscription Extended in 2000) | | | | considerable exchanges in the field of monumental |
| Most visitors to Croatia head for the coast, but if | | | | arts between Northern Italy, Dalmatia and Tuscany in |
| you're traveling by bus from Zagreb to Split (or even if | | | | the 15th and 16th centuries" since Croatia as a whole |
| you're not) be sure to break up your journey at this | | | | has for so long served as a crossroads of cultures. |
| system of sixteen interlinked lakes and the park that | | | | The building itself illustrates the fusion between the |
| surrounds them. You can tour the lakes by boat or | | | | Renaissance and Gothic styles under a series of |
| walk alongside them (which takes anything from five | | | | architects, but it's most famous for its remarkable |
| hours to a full day, depending on your level of fitness). | | | | frieze featuring 71 sculptured faces of men, women, |
| The park itself is home to a diverse collection of alpine | | | | and children. Legend has it that the extent to which |
| flora and fauna and is open year-round. | | | | these depictions flatter the local notables they're |
| Episcopal Complex of the Euphrasian Basilica in the | | | | intended to represent depends entirely on whether |
| Historic Centre of Poreč | | | | these individuals contributed to the building's |
| (Inscribed 1997) | | | | construction! |
| Protected by UNESCO on the basis of its status as | | | | |