Diocletian’s Palace
The Roman emperor’s palace whose walls hold the old town of Split, Croatia.
At a glance
| Source | Author | Role | In one line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither Here Nor There | Bill Bryson | subject | A Roman palace turned into a town by squatters: “no place else in Europe quite like it”. |
Neither Here Nor There — Bill Bryson (1991)
Source: Readwise highlight
I wandered along the quayside looking at the sailboats, then ventured into the sun-warmed lanes and courtyards that form the heart of Split.
- Role: subject
- In the book: Chapter 20 (Yugoslavia). He explains that this quarter, “roughly a quarter of a mile square, was the palace of Diocletian”. After Rome fell, squatters built houses inside the walls: “corridors became streets. Courtyards and atriums evolved into public squares.” Some lanes are so narrow you turn sideways to pass.
- Why it matters: The clearest affirmation of a place’s character in the Yugoslav chapter, which otherwise runs on comic mishaps (a plank over a ditch, the wrong flat) around his lodgings.