Images in the HEIR Project digital image archive range from to pictures taken by archaeologists, historians, classical scholars, or academics of other disciplines on their holidays. Their interests shape their choice of destination, taking them to less familiar locations with plans to see particular sites, museums, or excavations.
In this case, we do not know if the men on the steps were the photographer’s travelling companions, or just people used to provide a sense of scale for the building. What we do know is that they are in the picture intentionally, as they held still for the lengthy duration of the exposure, unlike the blurred workman at the trestle table in front of the right doorway to the palace (visible lower right) who kept moving.
Split, Croatia, was generally known by the Italian name of Spalato until the First World War, after which the Croatian preferred name of Split or Spljet became the norm outside Italy. This helps us to assign the otherwise undated picture to the years before the war, as reflected in the hand-lettered caption in the lower right of the picture. The city is home to the ruins of the 4th-century AD retirement palace built by the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Retiring to his native Dalmatia due to poor health after 20 years as emperor, Diocletian planned to live his remaining years in imperial style. The palace complex included a temple to Jupiter, which served as his mausoleum, and later became the Cathedral of St Domnius. The cathedral’s presence is suggested by the name ‘Piazza del Duomo’ (Cathedral Square) in the written caption.
