Omis

Omis sits where the Cetina comes out of a deep canyon into the sea, and the geography made its reputation: from the twelfth to the fourteenth century the town's ships raided shipping along this coast and retreated up the gorge where larger vessels could not follow, and the Omis pirates were serious enough that Venice and the papacy both mounted campaigns against them. Two fortresses look down on the town - Mirabela on a crag directly above and Starigrad higher up the ridge - and both are climbed for the view down the canyon and along the coast. Rafting and zip lines now run in the gorge.

History

Omiš was famous for its corsairs, whose fast ships, the sagittae or "arrows", were built to strike and then slip back into the mouth of the Cetina; their neighbours in the highland Poljica republic became their allies, so they could prey on sea trade without fear of an attack from inland. The oldest building is the church of St Euphemia on the shore at Brzet, from the early 6th century, and across the river at Priko stands the pre-Romanesque church of St Peter from the 10th century, single-naved with a dome and apse, used in the 18th century as a Glagolitic seminary for young priests. The Mirabella fortress dates from the 13th century and the higher Starigrad fortress, or Fortica, from the 15th, as does the Renaissance church of the Holy Spirit; the parish church is of the 17th century and the Franciscan monastery on Skalice of the 18th (Wikipedia, Omiš).

What's there

• A town in a canyon mouth - where the Cetina reaches the sea.
• Pirates who used the gorge - retreating where big ships could not follow.
• Mirabela and Starigrad - two fortresses on the crags above.
• The canyon behind - rafting and zip lines through it now.

When to go

May to September; the river runs strongest in spring. Half a day.

Before you go

Both fortress climbs are steep and exposed with no shade. The old town is small and packed in August. Parking near the river mouth is very difficult in season. The beach is busy pebble.

Nearby

The Cetina canyon runs inland; Split is north-west along the coast.

Key facts