January 23, 2019 – The people of Split woke up to a rather unpleasant sight this morning, which many citizens are still trying to understand. The historic Split Vestibule inside Diocletian’s Palace fell victim to graffiti vandalism.
Namely, early on Wednesday morning, popular Split Facebook page Daily Dose of Split Disorder (Dnevna Doza Splitskog Nereda) posted a photo of a graffitied Vestibule. If you’re not familiar, the Split Vestibule is a historic attraction in the city, that was once the formal entrance to the residential quarters of Diocletian’s Palace.
Today, the Vestibule acts a stage for local Klapa singing groups thanks to its excellent acoustics and is one of the most popular photographing points in Split for tourists.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v=YPFT5iBOgN4
While many places in the old city center fall victim to graffiti with often offensive content, this particular scene rocked the people of Split.
Split Mayor Andro Krustolović-Opara was forced to chime in on the ugly incident:
“This is not Split, and the authors of these words can hardly be considered Split people! I hope that the judicial and police departments will quickly isolate and punish those who have foolishly caused the damage to our invaluable heritage! I call on the media to behave responsibly, and that in their publications they do not encourage graffiti in public places as an acceptable expression of communication! By affirming such gestures of individuals carving on our city walls, the climate of accepting such behavior is created, which, in this case, escalates in an absolutely unacceptable way,” Krstulović Opara said on Dalmatinski Portal.
Does this shameful act indicate the urgent need to set up surveillance cameras in all the historical parts of the city? What we know now is that many Split citizens are questioning why there isn’t better control of the most valuable part of Split already – and that is the old town core.
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