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.

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October 30, 2019 - A new EU-funded project will help restore, valorize, and improve the UNESCO-protected historic center of Split and Diocletian's Palace. 

Splitski Dnevnik reports that the European Union’s Ministry of Regional Development and Funds announced a tender for proposals for the “Palace of Life, City of Changes Integrated Visitor Infrastructure Development Program of the Old Town and Diocletian's Palace”,  within the ITU Mechanism and Operational Program ”Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014-2020 ".

The project is developed by the City of Split, along with partners, including the Split Tourist Board and the Split City Museum. The project's total estimated value is HRK 23.8 million, of which HRK 18.2 million is available in EU funds.

The project is based on restoring, valorising, presenting and improving the UNESCO site and historic center of Split, with Diocletian's Palace, including individually protected immovable cultural property, the Old Town Hall, and objects within the protected historic entity - like the Split City Museum and the southeast tower of Diocletian's Palace, with the associated depots of the City Museum in the building at Lukačićeva 5 and the exit to the southern part of the eastern wall of the Palace. The project aims to integrate the sites into the function of sustainable development of the local community and present Split as a city of layered and vibrant cultural heritage.

Investments foreseen in the project include conservation, restoration, and construction works and furnishing the facilities above, as well as establishing modern installations that will present the history and development of Split. Thus, more than HRK 7 million will be invested in renovating and furnishing the Old Town Hall, more than HRK 2 million in renovating and furnishing the Split City Museum, and over HRK 5 million in the southeast tower with the associated premises at Lukačićeva 5 and part of the eastern wall of the Palace. Creating contemporary presentations is set at HRK 3 million.

The remainder of the investment is related to the project’s technical documentation, which includes a plan for sustainable visitor management, expert work supervision, training and workshops, visibility, setting up a ticket and visitor tracking system, designing authentic and creative souvenirs, wine and gastronomy products based on local and cultural heritage, and project management.

All of this will contribute to the development of new cultural and visitor infrastructure, relieve the most burdened localities of the old city center, and develop an awareness of the importance of preserving the heritage and its role in the sustainable development of the local community.

At the same time, following the call requirements and the indicators of the Operational Program for "Competitiveness and Cohesion", the project will contribute to increasing the number of local and foreign visitors to the newly renovated cultural heritage sites and consequently contribute to the development of Split as a year-round cultural and tourist city.

Split Development Agency - RaST d.o.o. will accept tenders until November 28, 2019, and preparatory activities are already underway. 

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