ZAGREB, 20 Feb 2022 - The 22nd edition of Split marathon will take place on 27 February, and about 2,750 runners from 40 countries are expected to participate, organisers said last Wednesday.

"Preparation for the 22nd Split marathon are nearing completion," the president of the marathon's organising committee, Kristijan Sidik, told a press conference.

He said that he was proud that the continuity of the Split marathon hadn't been lost even during these challenging times, which was a rarity in the world.

Split Mayor Ivica Puljak said that the marathon had become an event of strategic importance for the development of the city of Split, calling it a unique sporting and tourism event that promotes all those values which they are known for and which they are proud of.

He said that the City of Split, its services and utility companies would provide their maximum support to make the organisation flawless and to make the competitors coming to the city feel welcome.

"The marketing and tourist potential of the marathon is exceptional, the athletes are also our guests, and in the future we will strengthen the brand of Split as a city of sport and sportspeople even more," said Puljak.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, 9 Feb 2022 - A tender for design documentation for a future medical research centre in Split was presented in the coastal city on Wednesday.

The project to build the centre, which will be located on the premises of the city's Križine Hospital, is worth slightly more than €80 million, including equipment.

The cost of design documentation is slightly less than HRK 8 million, with the entire amount provided by the EU.

The project partner is the Split Faculty of Medicine.

The future 15,500-square-metre Split Medical Research Centre will have eight laboratories - for human genetics, cell and tissue biology, bioinformatics, data analysis and statistics, cardiovascular and lifestyle medicine, tumors, neurodegenerative diseases and neuroscience, regenerative rehabilitation, and for the development of new drugs, devices, and clinical procedures.

The purpose of the project is the establishment of a major research-innovation structure which, officials of the KBC Split Hospital believe, will enhance the quality, scope and relevance of research activities in the field of biomedicine and health care, as well as enable integration with the joint pan-European network.

The future centre is expected to integrate research and clinical work of the Split Faculty of Medicine and the KBC Split Hospital.

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ZAGREB, 2 Feb 2022 - The exhibition about Slana on the island of Pag, the venue of the first concentration camp in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) which operated between June to August 1941, will be opened in the Salon Galić gallery in Split on Thursday.

The authors of the exhibition titled "Slana – Radikalni krajobraz" ("Slana – the Radical Landscape”), are Davor Konjikušić, Nika Petković and Goran Andlar.

The project was launched in 2016 to conduct interdisciplinary research, while findings from this research served as the basis for the 3D rendering of the camp. The Slana concentration camp was located in the central part of the island of Pag, in a deep bay overlooking Mount Velebit. According to some sources, an estimated 8,000 people were held under inhumane conditions in the open bay during the summer of 1941

The project by Konjikušić, Petković and Andlar has been supported by the Serb National Council (SNV), while the exhibition has been organized with the assistance of Croatia's office for human rights and ethnic minorities' rights. 

The exhibition runs from 3-21 February.

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ZAGREB, 30 Jan 2022 - The results of a survey of 1,370 respondents on the needs of youths in Split were presented in that city earlier this week, confirming that the biggest problems are employment and housing.

The survey was conducted on youths aged 15 - 30 who reside, study, or work in Split, in order to develop a city youth programme for the period 2022-2025.

Of the 1,370 respondents, 62.20% were female.

The issues of employment and housing are causes of great dissatisfaction amongst young people, who are also dissatisfied with the availability of information.

Maša Cek of the Association Delta said that in the survey, youths also expressed the need for more jobs for those in the education system, help in obtaining their first work experience, and more direct contact with employers.

As a place to live, Split received a rating of 3 out of 5, with 5. When it ccame to housing-related support, youths think the most useful tool to help them is to become property owners.

Respondents who live in Split are mostly satisfied with the infrastructure and the availability of the necessary facilities, green spaces and the availability of cultural events were rated as being below average.

The survey has shown that young people in Split mostly get around on foot and by car, while the public transport and the bicycle-sharing system is used less, said Cek.

Also, it has shown that young people are satisfied with the availability of sports and recreational activities, while they are the least satisfied with the offer of cultural activities. They stressed the need for a larger and more diverse range of options for spending one's free time with lower prices, especially for sports and non-formal education.

The president of the association Info Zona, Goran Biličić, said that youths do not see Split as a city that encourages them to participate in society and do not feel that their volunteer work is appreciated by the general public.

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January 29, 2022 - "The project's visual identity is inspired by lines that represent somewhat chaotic directions of movement, roads, and shortcuts inside Diocletian's Palace, while the slogan highlights a whole new story within the old town." A look at the Palace of Life, City of Changes visual identity. 

Palace of Life, City of Changes, is a project in which the Old Town Hall on Split's Pjaca (Narodni trg) was renovated, followed by the renovation of the courtyard and ground floor of the Split City Museum (MGS), which will become accessible to people with disabilities by installing an elevator. Through this project, the southeastern tower of Diocletian's Palace with the Lukačićeva 5 building will be reconstructed and presented to the public, reports the City of Split.

"The project co-financed the renovation and equipping of five buildings, which will provide a unique insight into the invaluable cultural heritage of the historic center of Split and the introduction of new content and presentations of space that have been neglected for years. In addition, the old town hall has been renovated following the latest needs of modern exhibition space. Project documentation is being prepared by Office Vojnović d.o.o. based on which work will soon begin on the above facilities," said Radojka Tomašević, Head of the Service for International and EU Projects, who heads the project implementation team by the City of Split in cooperation with partners - Split Tourist Board and Split City Museum.

Split studio Kazinoti & Komenda designed and created the project's visual identity. Karlo Kazinoti and Mišo Komenda have already been recognized for their quality and memorable design solutions to numerous cultural projects, but this is undoubtedly the most significant Split project they have worked on. The set task resulted in a dynamic identity of pronounced color in which they summed up the directions of movement through the countless streets of Split's historic core:

“The design was created as a reduction of the palace to four squares, i.e., towers, while the walls were completely erased to suggest openness and metaphorically depict life spreading outside the palace. The lines as a formative element are inspired by the somewhat chaotic directions of movement, roads, shortcuts inside the palace created by life within the walls. In the end, we see a similar network of intertwined directions when looking at the sky because of the clothesline (tiramola)," explained Kazinoti & Komenda.

The extended function of this design allows the grid of lines to be applied as a graphic pattern or framed within a given format as needed. The font Spalat by prof. Nikola Đurek and the project's name were accompanied by the slogan "Old Split. New Story."

“The goal was to communicate the novelties in the palace, i..e., the old part of the city, but the specificity is that these 'novelties' are centuries-old heritage, so we drew a parallel between the old and the new. We are erasing the border between them because part of the unknown heritage, which, together with many visitors, will be revived only now and become - new," explained Karlo Kazinoti.

Thanks to investments through the Palace of Life project, the citizens of Split will get a new perspective, the opportunity to enjoy the view of the city from the eastern wall of Diocletian's Palace and from the terrace of the Southeast Tower, which will house the interpretation center and exhibition space. Since its opening, the old town hall has attracted visitors of all generations with an excellent exhibition "Judita 500". At the same time, the Split City Museum on the ground floor and renovated courtyard of the Papalić Palace will receive a new, modernized exhibition that will provide visitors with a completely new experience of old stories.

Palace of Life, City of Changes, is one of the most significant investment projects in the restoration and revitalization of the cultural heritage of Split in more than 60 years, more precisely since the opening of Diocletian's cellars. The project also includes the development of the Old Town Management Plan and the Visitor Management Action Plan. The total estimated value of the project is HRK 25.4 million, of which HRK 18.2 million is a grant from the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund.

For more, check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

January 27, 2022 - Split area public bike system (Split, Solin, Trogir, Kastela, Podstrana, Klis, Dugopolje, and Dicmo) will receive 41 new stations with a total of 242 bicycles!

Representatives of cities and municipalities from the Split Urban Agglomeration area and project partners in the "Choose a bike!" project held a working video meeting on preparations to implement the public bicycle systems. As it was said at the meeting, the first deliveries of bicycles by the project partner "Nextbike" will follow in February, and preparations to install bicycle stations and power connections at other locations are underway, reports Grad Split.

The work on installing terminals in the whole urban agglomeration should be completed in the next few months. The first functional stations would be located in the Podstrana area, and the locations are already ready to receive bicycles. It was pointed out that most of the new contingent of bikes is planned to be set up in the Marjan Forest Park area and the city's outskirts. The construction and marking of bicycle roads in the Trogir area are expected to be completed by the middle of the year at the latest. As part of the activities of this integrated project, the City of Split and seven partners - cities and municipalities from the Split urban agglomeration (Solin, Trogir, Kastela, Podstrana, Klis, Dugopolje, and Dicmo), will receive 41 new stations with a total of 242 bicycles. In short, from the beginning of summer, the area from Podstrana to Trogir and from Split to Dicmo will be connected by a system of public bicycles.

The "Choose a bicycle!" strategic project is co-financed by the European Union within the ITU Call "Urban Mobility - Development of public bicycle systems in the Urban Agglomeration of Split." The project application was prepared by the Development Agency Split - RaST, with the support of the Service for International and EU Projects of the City of Split, which is now leading the project. The project's total value is HRK 13.6 million, of which the grant amounts to a total of HRK 10.8 million. This project to develop the public bicycle system is planned to popularize bicycles as an alternative form of public transport. An indispensable part is developing and improving the network of cycling infrastructure, which will enable faster access to public transport stops and serve as an upgrade of the existing form of public transport in the Split urban agglomeration.

These 41 new locations with bicycle terminals will be distributed in eight local self-government units following the analysis of needs and possibilities for the implementation of the system, as follows:

City of Split: 16 terminals with 50 electric and 20 classic bicycles.

City of Solin: 6 terminals with 12 electric and 26 classic bicycles.

City of Trogir: 3 terminals with 10 electric and 10 classic bicycles.

Kaštela: 6 terminals with 30 electric and 30 classic bicycles.

Municipality of Podstrana: 2 terminals with 6 electric and 6 classic bicycles.

Municipality of Klis: 2 terminals with 4 electric and 8 classic bicycles.

Municipality of Dugopolje: 4 terminals with 10 electric and 10 classic bicycles.

Municipality of Dicmo: 2 terminals with 4 electric and 6 classic bicycles.

For more, check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

July 22, 2020 - Along with Aida, which is the most popular and most performed opera title of the Split Summer Festival, Nabucco will be performed twice by the Croatian National Theater Split opera at the 66th Split Summer Festival. 

Namely, Dalmatinski Portal writes that in addition to this year's premiere performance on Tuesday, July 21, Nabucco will be performed on Thursday, July 23, at the Peristyle. The performances are directed by maestro Jure Bucevic for the first time, and the play is directed by Georgij Par and Jelena Bosancic.

Along with the Orchestra, Choir and Ballet of the Croatian National Theater in Split, the protagonists are singers who have presented themselves to the Split audience since the premiere of this Nabucco production. The title role of the Babylonian king Nabucco is Italian baritone David Cecconi, Boze Juric Pesic plays Ismael in the first performance, and in the second, the role will be sung by Brazilian tenor Max Jota. As Abigaille, we will again watch and listen to soprano Daniela Schillaci, already well known in Split. Ivica Cikes and Bozo Zupic will take turns in the role of Zaccaria, Antonija Teskera will be played by Fenena, and. Mate Akrap, Vinko Maroevic and Branka Plestina Stanic will play the roles of Priests, Abdall and Anna.

The peristyle performance of the Nabucco opera was the first music and stage production made exclusively for the open stage at the Imperial Square in front of the Split Cathedral. Verdi’s masterpiece premiered at the Peristyle a total of six times. This summer, under the musical direction of maestro Jure Bucevic, who is making his debut as the Nabucco conductor, we will watch a production that premiered in 2018 and is directed by Georgij Paro and Jelena Bosancic.

Nabucco is an opera that has permanently established Giuseppe Verdi’s reputation as a great opera composer.

"With this opera, my artistic career really begins," said Verdi himself.

The four-act opera, composed in 1814 on a libretto by Temistocle Soler, is based on the Old Testament books On Kings, Jeremiah, Lamentations, and Daniel, and plays by Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois and Francis Cornu. The historical events of the expulsion of the Jews by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar are the backdrop to a romantic and political plot. The choral aria Va pensiero is certainly the most popular in opera and, as such, has become a recognizable and unavoidable part of the general culture as an expression of the general longing of peoples for freedom.

In addition to the conductor and director, the author's team consists of set designer Dinka Jericevic, costume designer Sonja Obradovic (according to the ideas of Irena Susac and Leo Kulas), choreographers Miljenko Vikic and Ljiljana Gvozdenovic, choirmaster Frane Kuss, lighting designer Srdan Barbaric, and stage movement author Ljiljana Gvozdenovic.

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The showroom project of Split United, i.e., the master plan of the urban revitalization study of Split’s East Coast and Kopilica, opens for all interested public today at 4 pm. The showroom is located on the first floor of the Administrative Building Dalma near the University Center for Vocational Studies (Kopilica 5) and will be open until April 19th on weekdays from 4 pm to 8 pm, reports Dalmacija Danas on March 21, 2019. 

It presents visual representations of the master plan as well as the timeline of the development of the East Coast and Kopilica, so that all interested parties can be fully informed about the presented study and actively and informatively included in the public discussion. For the same reason, over the last three days, many expert workshops were held with different stakeholders, from city councilors and professionals to landowners at two subject locations with the residents themselves.

Recall, the master plan, among other things, defines new tourism and residential properties. On the East Coast, the construction of residential buildings, hotels, and garages on several levels are planned. The East Coast would be "a place to preserve and enhance the historical significance of UNESCO heritage and a new place of residence for the local population."

In Kopilica, a new cargo port (RoRO) is planned for automobile transportation to the islands, but also a new waterfront or promenade and a tunnel below Bačvice. As a measure to retain inhabitants in the city, they plan to build 8,984 apartments in Kopilica and 286 apartments on the East Coast. The aim is to bring 19,764 inhabitants to Kopilica and 629 to the East Coast. 

The bridge across the Kaštela bay was considered a "long-term national project" that ensures access to the port in Kopilica from the state road. There would also be residential buildings, shops, rest areas, parks, and catering facilities along the coast. 

Unlike the past development vision, where this area was viewed only as a transit hub, it will now become a “modern neighborhood that has housing, education, a business center, and public, entertainment and tourist facilities."

As part of the showroom, an exhibition of selected photos from the recently held photo contest "Kopilica and East Coast - the current state and perspective" was opened. Among the nearly 200 photographs received from 15 different authors, the best was awarded to Majda Rožić for the photo "Kopilica." Žaklina Antonijević won the second prize, while the third went to Janka Bauka. The exhibition, like the showroom, will remain open to the public until April 19, 2019.

The city of Split invites all citizens, experts, and stakeholders to visit the showroom, get detailed information about the project and actively engage in a public discussion, because only the engagement of all guarantees that the final solution of the master plan will best respond to the city's needs in the next 50 years. 

More information about the public hearing procedure is available here. 

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The official promotion for Split Carnival 2017 begins tonight in Split with an event on the Split Riva.