Trogir
Small town and harbor at the end of the Kaštelanski bay, 27 kilometers from Split. It lies on the small island between the island of Čiovo and land (draw bridge). The beautiful beaches are located in the vicinity, especially around Seget and in the Saldun bay. It has a shipyard. #$#
In the 3rd century B.C., on the location of present Trogir, the Greeks founded the settlement Tragurion that developed into an important harbor in the antiquity. After the fall of the Roman Empire it was included in the Byzantine thema of Dalmatia. In the time of the arrival of Croats, the refugees from the destroyed Salona took shelter in this town.
The old town core has been formed between the 13th and 15th century inside defense wall that was restored by Venice in the 15th century. They also added two forts that are still preserved: citadel Kamerlengo, and the tower of St. Marko. The older, eastern part of the town has developed around the main square with the cathedral. The western part, Pasika, was built later. In the past, the town was one of the cultural centers of Dalmatia: in the 13th century master Radovan worked there, and in the 15th century there were famous sculptors, architects, builders, humanists, and historians (Ivan Lucius).
The entrance into the town from the north is trough the late renaissance town gates from the 17th century with the sculpture of Blessed Ivan Ursini, the patron saint of the town. On the main square there is the cathedral from the 13th - 15th century with characteristics of both Romanesque and Gothic styles. The most important port of the cathedral, and the most valuable work of the Romanesque sculpture in Dalmatia is the portal of master Radovan from 1240. The sculpture of St. Lovro and triangular gable were added to it in the 14th century. In the cathedral there are also: the baptistery from 1464, the most important preserved work of the sculptor Andrija Aleši; octagonal stone pulpit from the 13th century; Gothic chorus benches; ciborium from the 14th century; paintings of the local and Italian masters; Gothic chapel of St. Jeronim from 1438; and chapel of the Blessed Ivan Ursini, the most beautiful renaissance monument in Dalmatia, the work of Nikola Firentinac from the 15th century. The most beautiful objects from the treasury are embroideries, ivory Gothic triptych, and medieval illuminated codices. The early Gothic first floor of the belfry was finished in 1422 by Matej Gojković, and the final floor was built by Trifun Bokanić in the style of the late renaissance.
On the square you can also see the town loggia from the 15th century, clock tower, and the small church of St. Sebastijan that was built in the renaissance style. The small, early medieval church of St. Barbara, from the 9th - 10th century, is located behind the loggia. The square is closed by the Ćipiko Palace. Opposite to it, is the town hall from the 15th century.
The renaissance church of St. John the Baptist from the 13th century, with remains of the medieval frescos and the tomb of the Ćipiko family, is on the coast. Further down the coast is part of preserved defense walls with tower and renaissance town gates from 1593. The relief of Kairos, the Greek god of the happy moment, probably from the 1st century B.C., is kept in the Benedictine nunnery with the church of St. Nikola. The Greek inscription from the 4th - 3rd century B.C., the oldest written monument in the area of Trogir, is also built in the wall of the cloister of this nunnery. The Kamerlengo citadel, that used to be connected with the city walls, is on the south-western part of the island. Its present shape it got in the 15th century. More in the south is in the tower of St. Marko from the 15th century, and between the tower and the citadel, there is a gloriet built in the style of classicism, from the time of the French occupation. In the part of the town that developed on Čiovo there are a few interesting small church. Trogir is a treasury of cultural and historical monuments, and beauties of the Mediterranean landscape with abundance of tourist possibilities.
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