During the European Year of Cultural Heritage, results of the completed phase of conservation of the western gate and Church of Our Lady of the Bell Tower will be presented on Thursday, 20th December 2018 at the Institute of Art History – Cvito Fisković Centre (Kružićeva 7, Split).
Supervisor: Vinka Marinković, PhD
Diocletian’s Palace in Split is one of the most significant monuments from Late Antiquity in the world. Contributing to this fact is the historical context of its construction, state of preservation, and research. Western gate of the Diocletian’s Palace, or the Iron Gate as they are called in popular jargon, is one of the main entrances to the Palace. Today, the architectural complex of the western gate includes the original Roman layer and the medieval Church of Our Lady of the Bell Tower, incorporated in the Roman guard corridor.
Photo album
From 2013, Croatian Conservation Institute has been conducting research, documentation, and conservation interventions on the western gate and the Church of Our Lady of the Bell Tower. So far, architectural scanning and documentation of the entire complex, replacing the roof on the Church of Our Lady of the Bell Tower, preventive interventions on the medieval wall painting on the exterior façade of the church, and cleaning, partial reconstruction and presentation of the medieval niche on the north wall of the propugnaculum have been completed. During 2018, work began in the interior of the church of Our Lady of the Bell Tower and newly-discovered medieval sculptures were placed in the niche on the north wall of the propugnaculum. The goal of these interventions is to improve the condition of an extremely high-frequency area of the old town by conducting minimal, controlled actions resulting in the revitalisation of the entire western gate complex. Current research and conservation have produced a lot of new information and furthered the knowledge on the historical development of this complex.
Conservation of the western gate continues, and the restoration of the sacristy roof is being prepared under the patronage of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish and company Interspar.