March 12, 2020 - The archaeological survey of the Old Town Hall within the EU project "Palace of Life - a City of Change" was the best insight into the rich historical life of Pjaca in Split.

The City of Split reported that the archaeological survey of the Old Town Hall within the EU project "Palace of Life - a City of Change" lasted one month. Investigations were conducted to discover and protect archaeological layers and structures prior to the renovation and restoration of this building in the heart of Split, in Pjaca.

What the archaeological survey employees of the Split company Temenos discovered was the best insight into the precious historical life of Pjaca, once known as People’s Square, and the changes that took place within the medieval town hall and that part of Split.

According to an archaeological report, it was discovered that the centerline of the town hall was preserved from the time before Diocletian's Palace was built. The remains of materials from an ancient road leading from the west door of the Palace were also found.

The construction of the first pre-Romanesque houses was also found, after the church of St. Lawrence in the 6th / 7th century and the formation of a medieval cemetery, and in the Romanesque period, during the Split commune, in the 12th and 13th centuries, there was an expansion and increase of houses.

With the arrival of the Venetian authorities and the construction of the Gothic town hall and the prince's palace and the demolition of the church of St. Lawrence, the People's Square got a new look.

The research also revealed that the original layout of the Old Town Hall was a unique space, which was later reconstructed.

The renovation and valorization of the Old Town Hall is part of the strategic EU project of the City of Split "Palace of life - City of changes" which integrates the development program of the visitor infrastructure of the historic core with Diocletian's Palace, which was submitted at the end of November 2019 by Ministries of Regional Development and European Union Funds under the ITU Mechanism, within the Operational Program "Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014-2020".

The renovation and restoration of the Old Town Hall are worth 9.6 million kuna, and the works should last 12 months. Everything is done with the consent and under the watchful eye of the Conservation Department in Split.

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February 4, 2020 - As part of the EU project "Palace of life - City of changes", the archaeological research at the Old Town Hall in Split will begin at the end of this week.

TCN has already announced that the neo-Gothic Old Town Hall building in the Split Pjaca will undergo a complete transformation. 

Namely, the building will retain its current size, layout, and height. Renovations will be carried out on the floors, all floor structures, and the roof.

Architect of the project, Josip Ružić, said that by removing the existing walls and modifying the inter-story structures, the intention is to achieve an open and flexible exhibition space on all three floors. This will allow the heritage facility to be used for new functions and to hold seminars, lectures, concerts, receptions, and the like.

The Old Town Hall could also serve as a place where the mayor would occasionally receive high-ranking guests, and suitable furniture for the first floor will be specially brought in for the occasion. The dropped ceiling will be removed and a wooden cassette ceiling installed, with thermal insulation required. The base of the pillars in the loggia that were cut off during the earlier interventions will be reconstructed and add the missing part of the stone base.

The existing wooden windows and doors will be replaced with new ones, but in the same style. Anti-theft foil is envisaged on the windows, with additional thermal insulation and sun protection.

On the ground floor, the reception area, souvenir shop, control room, and toilets will be located along the existing loggia and the exhibition area, and all the facilities mentioned above will occupy a quarter of the space, while the rest will be used for exhibiting. An 18th-century illustrated monograph of Diocletian's Palace, authored by Scottish architect Robert Adam, will be displayed on the touch screen.

The north side of Old Town Hall will provide access for people with disabilities, up to the ground floor level by a ramp, and access to the second floor by elevator. A stone staircase with a wrought iron fence will be retained. On the first and second floors, there will be showrooms, and the attic is intended for mechanical installations, storage, and office space.

Recall, at the end of last year, the City of Split Administration announced a competition for archaeological research and the renovation and interior decoration of the historic building located in the Split Pjaca, or People’s Square. 

These activities are an integral part of the EU project "Palace of life - City of changes", financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the ITU Mechanism of the Urban Agglomeration of Split, and the value of this part of the works is estimated at 7.2 million kuna.

Slobodna Dalmacija announced that the archaeological research at the Old Town Hall finally begins at the end of this week.

Renovation works precede these works, and their goal is to fully discover and protect the archaeological layers and structures of the building. They are expected to be completed in March 2020, when renovation and interior design work is scheduled to begin.

The interior design project is signed by Nikolina Jelavić Mitrović, who designed and executed 12 permanent exhibitions of museums in Croatia and more than 130 exhibitions in our leading museums and galleries. For the Vukovar City Museum housed in the Eltz Castle and the Museum Alka of Sinj, she received prestigious European awards.

The designer notes that, given the importance of the building, it was approached with the utmost care and that all possible installation equipment would be kept as hidden or as noticeable as possible.

“In addition to the installation of a modern ventilation system, a microclimate control system is envisaged, which will allow the exposure of the most sensitive and valuable exhibits. The first and second floors will have microclimate control when needed, so that the most sensitive exhibits can be exposed,” says Jelavić Mitrović, adding that there will be automatic glass doors on the floors that provide stable microclimate conditions.

Unlike the existing lighting, the new lighting will be flexible, able to move around, and allow for better adjustment of light intensity depending on the purpose. There will be built-in speakers on the ceilings.

The project envisages a system of dismantling panels that will allow the window openings to be covered, thus providing more exhibition space.

“No use of the walls is envisioned, but the exhibitions will be shown exclusively on the billboards. The space is a bit darker as the walls will not be white, and the use of disassembly panels will be used. The panels will be able to change color depending on the exhibition,” notes the designer, pointing out that the panels will be able to be placed freely in the space, but also against the wall using a special suspension system to create a continuous exhibition surface.

The coat of arms on a glass wall in the center window is planned on the first floor, which was created when the town hall was Neo-Gothic. The coats of arms will be made of colored glass, and not painted on glass as it is now.

Incredibly, this space has not been valorized so far as a building and a site of significant events in the history of the city. It is time it is presented adequately.

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November 1, 2019 - The Old Town Hall in Split, located within the bustling Pjaca, will shine once again.

Slobodna Dalmacija writes that the City of Split has announced a competition for the archaeological research, renovation and interior decoration of the historic building in People's Square, or what Split locals know better as 'Pjaca'.

These activities are an integral part of the EU project "Palace of Life, City of Change", financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the ITU mechanism of the Urban Agglomeration of Split, and the value of this part of the project is estimated at 7.2 million kuna. 

The Neo-Gothic Old Town Hall building will retain its current size, layout, and height. Renovations will be carried out on the floors, all floor structures, and the roof.

Architect of the project, Josip Ružić, said that by removing the existing walls and modifying the inter-story structures, the intention is to achieve an open and flexible exhibition space on all three floors. This will allow the heritage facility to be used for new functions and to hold seminars, lectures, concerts, receptions, and the like.

The Old Town Hall could also serve as a place where the mayor would occasionally receive high-ranking guests, and suitable furniture for the first floor will be specially brought in for the occasion. The dropped ceiling will be removed and a wooden cassette ceiling installed, with thermal insulation required. The base of the pillars in the loggia that were cut off during the earlier interventions will be reconstructed and add the missing part of the stone base.

The existing wooden windows and doors will be replaced with new ones, but in the same style. Anti-theft foil is envisaged on the windows, with additional thermal insulation and sun protection.

On the ground floor, the reception area, souvenir shop, control room, and toilets will be located along the existing loggia and the exhibition area, and all the facilities mentioned above will occupy a quarter of the space, while the rest will be used for exhibiting. An 18th-century illustrated monograph of Diocletian's Palace, authored by Scottish architect Robert Adam, will be displayed on the touch screen.

The north side of Old Town Hall will provide access for people with disabilities, up to the ground floor level by a ramp, and access to the second floor by elevator. A stone staircase with a wrought iron fence will be retained. On the first and second floors, there will be showrooms, and the attic is intended for mechanical installations, storage, and office space.

The interior design project is signed by Nikolina Jelavić Mitrović, a leading author in the area, who designed and executed 12 permanent exhibitions of museums in Croatia and more than 130 exhibitions in our leading museums and galleries. For the Vukovar City Museum housed in the Eltz Castle and the Museum Alka of Sinj, she received prestigious European awards.

The designer notes that, given the importance of the building, it was approached with the utmost care and that all possible installation equipment would be kept as hidden or as noticeable as possible.

“In addition to the installation of a modern ventilation system, a microclimate control system is envisaged, which will allow the exposure of the most sensitive and valuable exhibits. The space on the first and second floors will have microclimate control when needed, so that the most sensitive exhibits can be exposed,” says Jelavić Mitrović, adding that there will be automatic glass doors on the floors that provide stable microclimate conditions.

Unlike the existing lighting, the new lighting will be flexible, able to move around, and allow for better adjustment of light intensity depending on the purpose. There will be built-in speakers on the ceilings.

The project envisages a system of dismantling panels that will allow the window openings to be covered, thus providing more exhibition space.

“No use of the walls is envisioned, but the exhibitions will be shown exclusively on the billboards. The character of the space is a bit darker as the walls will not be white, and the usual exhibit white color will be secured by the use of disassembly panels. The panels will be able to change color depending on the exhibition,” notes the designer, pointing out that the panels will be able to be placed freely in the space, but also against the wall using a special suspension system to create a continuous exhibition surface.

The coat of arms on a glass wall in the center window is planned on the first floor, which was created when the town hall was Neo-Gothic. The coats of arms will be made of colored glass, and not painted on glass as it is now.

However, archaeological research on the Old Town Hall comes first. 

“A small part of Pjaca has been explored. In Split, you never know what you can discover when you start to open something; it may be something ingenious and completely alter our project... If any graves and artifacts are found, it will be taken to a museum. Who knows, it might be good to find something crazy,” Nikolina Jelavic Mitrovic joked. 

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During the ongoing excavations in the Split Pjaca on Wednesday morning, a skeleton was discovered at the site where HEP was laying new high-voltage cables. The skeleton lies on the remains of the Sv. Lovre church, dating from the late antiquity, and is known as one of the earliest Split churches, reports Splitski Dnevnik on March 27, 2019. 

The Sv. Lovre church was in use from the 7th-century and was demolished in the 15th century. Research located the church in the 1970s, and in this area, walls appear to belong to an object that was then defined. For now, the western and southern wall of the church has been located, but its exact size is still unknown.

Slobodna Dalmacija Reader 

"Finding skeletons in this location is nothing out of the ordinary. Namely, around the church itself, after it was demolished, it was buried quite deep. We assume that the church was built at the end of the fifth or early sixth century, and was demolished in the 15th century. Afterwards, the Pjaca was built here during the Renaissance transformation. The Pjaca is historically known as Sv. Lovre Square and the church itself dates back to the late antiquity. It is one of the earliest Split churches,” says Radoslav Bužančić, head of the Conservation Department.

The skeleton itself will be processed, and further research will decide what will happen to it next. Once all is said and done, the works will continue in this part of Pjaca, though no date is known as of yet. 

This archaeological evidence shows the transformation of Diocletian's Palace into the ancient city, showing the expansion from the palace to the west, Dr Bužančić adds.

Slobodna Dalmacija reported that the latest archaeological research on this site, which was a prerequisite for the start of the reconstruction of the Hotel Central, was carried out in 2010. It confirmed that there are remains of Romanesque houses, 19th-century sewers and medieval cemeteries, along with large stone blocks from ancient times under Pjaca, making today’s find not entirely surprising.

During the research conducted in 1978 southwest of the City Hall, in the middle of the Square, at a depth of only 30 to 50 cm, a cemetery was discovered with a total of 24 graves with skeletal remains. 

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Another weekend has just about passed in January, and today is definitely one of the warmer days the city has seen this year. With that said, Splićani were out and about today for their afternoon coffees and strolls along the Riva. Here's a look into the Split life today. 

One of the beautiful things about Advent in Split are the various holiday locations spread throughout the old town. While we may have a considerable amount fewer than in Zagreb, each location is alive with the holiday spirit, with something uniquely special on offer. Today we take a look at Advent on Pjaca.