The world is getting smaller, and the thirst for unique experiences is getting stronger.
In the modern social media age, how do you define a destination and make it special and unique?
There is no denying that Split has arrved as a destination, a stunning transformation from the Gateway to the Dalmatian islands to one of the hottest destinations in Europe.
But what makes it unique?
We asked the man who knows everything, erstwhile Total Split contibutor and Splitophile Ivica Profaca. Now a fully qualified tour guide for the region, young Profaca is perhaps better placed than anyone to give the inside story on Split. We have just been commissioned to write a brief guide to Split for an inflight magazine, and took this as an opportunity to pick Ivica’s brains, asking him what – if anything – is unique about Split. His answers were illuminating and of course he had written about many of them already during his time with us at Total Split. Here are his top 9 things which make Split unique as a destination:
1. Musical chocolate. The world’s first chocolate record and biggest chocolate square
When I first heard about Marinko Biksic and his company, I didn’t believe it. A former punk rocker with a love of chocolate who combined his two passions to produce a choclate record that actually played a few times before you had the pleasure of eating the record. And, not content with that novelty, Marinko entered the Guinness Book of Records last year for the largest chocolate square in the world on Peristil. Learn more here.
2. The oldest Cathedral in the world
The Cathedral of Saint Domnius, consecrated at the turn of the 7th century AD, is regarded as the oldest Catholic cathedral in the world that remains in use in its original structure, without near-complete renovation at a later date (though the bell tower dates from the 12th century). The structure itself, built in AD 305 as the Mausoleum of Diocletian, is the second oldest structure used by any Christian Cathedral.
3. Picigin
Not many cities have their own international sport, but Split hosts the annual World Picigin Championships each year at Bacvice Beach, the Wembley Stadium of picigin.
What is picigin? Well it is a rather bizarre water sport, now protected as cultural heritage, which Ivica explains better than I can in this article. Or for a visual, check out the video below.
4. The city with the most Olympic medal winners per capita
Split is a famous sporting city. From Goran Ivanisevic and Wimbledon to a host of Olympic stars, the city breathes sport. Perhaps its surroundings are conducive to its success – sea, mountains, challenging terrain. And let’s not forget Hajduk Split, Croatia’s most successful football club. Here is Ivica on the sporting city of Split.
5. Midnight mass at 4 pm on Christmas Eve, in the church of Our Lady of Bethlehem on Marjan
For a large European city, Split is blessed by nature. The Adriatic glistens in front of the city, and to the right is Marjan, divine green hill which is not only the lungs of the city, but also home to some amazing heritage. Come on Christmas Eve and experience midnight mass at 4pm. Yes, that’s Split. Learn more from Ivica here.
6. The Sphynxes of Split
Split was founded thanks to a Roman emperor Diocletian, and most of its heritage can be traced all the way to Roman times. However, probably one of top five the most photographed spots in Split has even older origins, ancient Egyptian. Of course, we are talking about Split Sphynxes. The one in front of the cathedral is the best preserved, and definitely the most famous, but there were much more of them scattered around the Palace by Diocletian. What they were doing there, how many of them once existed, and where are they now? Read Ivica’s full blog here.
7. A rare painting of Prophet Mohamed
One of the best known rules of Islam is that art should not depict any human being, especially not Prophet Muhammad. There are exceptions in countries like Turkey or Iran, but in general the written word is much more important measn of spreading their faith than images. We all remember the turmoil in Islamic countries caused by cartoons in Danish newspapers.
Even Christian artists rarely took Muhammad as a “model”, and one of the rare examples can be seen in one of the most beautiful religious buildings in Split; the monastery of Saint Anthony near Poljud Stadium. This hidden jewel is not known even to most of Split citizens, not even those who are coming there to pray. It’s probably one of the most interesting depictions of the Islamic prophet in European art. Furthermore, according to legend it also saved this monastery from Ottoman destruction. Read Ivica’s full blog here.
8. Eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites within two hours of Split
Culture, heritage, culture and a little more heritage. Did you know you can visit eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites within two hours of Split? Improving transport connections are the key to some of them, especially the seaplanes of European Coastal Airlines. With ECA, you will be able to catch the Euphrasian Basilica in Porec via seaplane to Pula, the old town of Dubrovnik is just a bus ride after the 45-minute flight from downtown Split, and if you don’t fancy the two-hour ferry to Stari Grad, take the 15-minute flight to Jelsa to visit the Stari Grad Plain.
Diocletian’s Palace can be reached without too much effort, as can the old town of Trogir and the Cathedral of St. James in Sibenik, but a little more effort may be required to visit the UNESCO paradises of Plitvice Lakes and the Old Bridge in Mostar. An impressive list of day trips!
9. The First Scheduled Seaplane Service in Modern European Aviation History
On August 27, 2014, a seaplane took off from Resnik near Split Airport to Jelsa on the island of Hvar, the first commercial seaplane flight for European Coastal Airlines, whose expanding service is now the first scheduled service of its kind in mosdern European history. Downtown Split has also been added, and now you can island hope and connected directly with destinations in Italy, Dubrovnik and Pula from downtown Split. Beat that! Get a flavour of the experience in the promo video below.
Ready to discover Split through the eyes of a true passionate local? Connect with Ivica on his Guiding Facebook page here.
