Split Golden Gate

The Golden Gate is the tall, arched northern entrance to Diocletian's Palace, framed by limestone blocks that have weathered seventeen centuries of Adriatic salt air. Emperor Diocletian walked through this portal when he arrived from Rome in three hundred five AD to retire in his fortified residence. During the Middle Ages, citizens built a small chapel dedicated to Saint Martin directly into the narrow defensive passage above the gate, where it remains tucked into the stone, hidden from the street below.