The Sponza Palace or Divona is a 16th-century palace that served many public functions such as a customs office, bonded warehouse, armoury, treasury, bank and even a school. Gothic-Renaissance Sponza Palace was built between 1516 and 1522 by Croatian local builder Paskoje Miličević Mihov, while the loggia and sculptures are works of Andrijić brothers. Name Sponza comes from the Latin word “spongia” which designates the spot where the rainwater was collected according to the former use of this part of the Old Town. The shape and design of the Palace, that served as a trading center and business meeting place, went unaltered during the Great Earthquake in 1667. Famous inscription in Latin on an arch of the atrium reads the following: “Fallere nostra vetant et falli pondera. Meque pondero cum merces ponderat ipse deus”, that is “Our weights do not permit cheating. When I measure goods, God measures with me.”
