Croatia - Diocletian's Palace and the Historical Nucleus of Split (extension)

The channel of the Diocletian Aqueduct that brought the water to the palace had a cross section of 0.75 m x 1.60 m, and made us of a free fall from the 33 m high Jadro Spring, by Solin, over the 9 km long path to the Palace. Some 1500 litres of water a second (or 129,600 cubic metres a day) flowed through the aqueduct, which according to today’s standards would serve a city of 173,000. It is still used by the city of Split. Constantine Porphyrogenitus, Imperial author, stated in the 10th century that the water of Solin “was the best tasting of all water, as those who have tasted it aver”, adding that Diocletian’s family was from Solin. The arcade of the aqueduct in Dujmovaca was used in the Middle Ages as a striking topographic landmark: the land of the Split nuns of St Benedict, for example, was described in the 11th century as being located by and above the great arches (super magnos arcus) or below the “ruined arches” (supra minimos arcus). The Jadro Spring is characterised by the even power and quantity of the water it provides, irrespective of the season.