Split (Italian Spalato), city in southern Croatia, a seaport on the Dalmatian coast of the Adriatic Sea. High mountains lie to the north and east of the city. Olive oil, fruit, and especially wine, are exported. The principal manufactured products have included chemicals, plastics, and cement. The University of Split (1974) is here. Roman monuments in the city include the remains (a loggia, with red columns and a striking rotunda) of the palace built by the Roman emperor Diocletian, a native of Dalmatia. The cathedral, an octagonal structure, and a baptistery are also of Roman origin.
The seat of a bishopric in the 4th century, Split grew into a prosperous port of medieval Dalmatia. Sporadically under Venice and Croatia, then under the suzerainty of Hungary-Croatia from the 12th to the 14th century, Split was held again by Venice for two centuries, and then by Austria from 1797 to 1918, when it became part of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia). In 1991 Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia, and Split was shelled by Serbs during the subsequent fighting. Population (1991) 189,388.
