Kastela

Between Split and Trogir the shore carries a line of seven towns - Stafilic, Novi, Stari, Luksic, Kambelovac, Gomilica and Sucurac - each of which grew around a kastel, a fortified house built by a landowning family or the church between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries so that the peasants working the fields could shelter behind walls when Ottoman raiding parties came. Several of the towers survive, one standing on a small island reached by a bridge. The bay behind them was the agricultural hinterland of Split. The area is now largely suburban, with Split airport at its western end, but the fortified cores are intact.

What you actually see

• Seven towns in a line - each around its own fortified house.
• Towers from the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries - built against raids.
• One kastel on an island - reached by a bridge from the shore.
• The old hinterland of Split - the fields the walls protected.

When to go

May to September. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Much of the area is ordinary suburb and the airport is loud at the western end. The towers are in varying states and not all are open. Beaches are pebble and busy. It works best as a stop between Split and Trogir.

Nearby

Trogir is west; Split and Salona are east.