Bronze Gate (Diocletian's Palace)

Bronze Gate
Native name Mjedena vrata (Croatian)
Bronze Gate (Porta Meridionalis) as it appeared in 2017
Type	Gate
Location	Split, Croatia
Coordinates	43°30′27″N 16°26′23″E
Built	4th century AD
Built by	Diocletian
Architectural style(s)	Roman
Location of Bronze Gate in Croatia

The Bronze Gate (Croatian: Mjedena vrata, Latin: Porta Meridionalis), or "the Southern Gate", is the smaller of the four principal Roman gates into the stari grad (old town) of Split. Built as part of Diocletian's Palace, it was originally a sea gate from which the Emperor entered the complex by boat. Today it is the main entry point from the promenade to the cathedral.

History

Inhabitants of the palace accessed the gate through a complex of basement rooms, constructed just below the peristyle.^[1] There was no promenade; instead, the sea lapped up against the walls,^[2] allowing ships to dock at the palace. Known in late antiquity as the Porta Meridionalis ("Southern Gate"), it was probably used by Diocletian to travel to and from the docks.^[3] During the Middle Ages the gate offered a direct exit to the sea and escape in the event of an attack on the palace, and consequently became known as the "Security Gate".^[4] Today it is the most frequently used palace gate, and a starting point for many guided tours because of its access to the Riva.^[3]

Description

The Bronze Gate was the main gate of Diocletian's palace (via the sea), located in the middle of the south wall; today this section of the outer walls is the best preserved.

The gate is built in a style described by one modern guidebook as "anonymous and functional",^[1] and differs completely from the other three gates of the palace. It is smaller in size, lacks decoration, and is not supported by gatehouses on either side.

See also

• Diocletian's Palace
• Vestibule, Split
• The Golden Gate (Diocletian's Palace)
• The Iron Gate (Diocletian's Palace)
• The Silver Gate (Diocletian's Palace)
• The Golden Gate (Constantinople), imperial entrance gate of the city of Constantinople, present-day Istanbul, Turkey
• Dalmatia
• Roman architecture

References

1. Bousfield, Jonathan (2010). The Rough Guide to Croatia (5th ed.). London: Rough Guides Ltd. p. 316. ISBN 978-1-84836-472-1.
2. "Brass Gate, Split".
3. "Split - Mjedena vrata".
4. "Mjedena vrata Split | stari grad, atrakcije, palace | localhost". 12 March 2016.

Further reading

• Šušnjar, Bogdan, Villa de Diocleziano in Split, Naklada Bošković, Split, 2003. ISBN 953-7090-06-X

External links