Peristil Square

Peristil Square, commonly known as the Peristyle, is the ceremonial courtyard at the centre of Diocletian's Palace in Split, Croatia. Built at the end of the 3rd century AD as part of the retirement palace of the Roman emperor Diocletian, it served as the formal court where the emperor appeared before his subjects, and as the setting for imperial proclamations and religious rites.

The square is enclosed by rows of monumental columns, several carved from red granite quarried in Egypt — spoils from Diocletian's campaign there in 297–298 AD. On its eastern side rises the Cathedral of Saint Domnius, originally built as Diocletian's own mausoleum and later converted into a church. Nearby stands a black granite sphinx, brought from Egypt and estimated to be around 3,500 years old, one of the oldest objects anywhere in Split.

Over the centuries the courtyard shifted from an imperial stage to the civic heart of the medieval and modern city, and it remains the busiest crossing point inside the palace walls, part of the wider UNESCO World Heritage site inscribed in 1979. Many visitors pair a morning among these Roman ruins with time on the water — many visitors combine a day of sightseeing with a private gulet charter from Split.