Trogir

Trogir occupies a small island wedged between the mainland and Čiovo, and its entire historic core fits into a space you can cross on foot in about ten minutes. That density is the point: within it are a Romanesque cathedral, a Venetian loggia, a fortress on the waterfront and a street plan laid out by Greek settlers in the third century BC and never substantially rearranged since. The cathedral's west portal, carved by the master Radovan in 1240, is the single most celebrated piece of Romanesque sculpture in Croatia, crowded with lions, apostles, seasonal labours and two rather uncomfortable-looking figures of Adam and Eve. The Kamerlengo fortress guards the western tip, and the waterfront promenade runs the length of the south side beneath a row of palms.

History

Greek colonists from the island of Vis founded Tragurion in the 3rd century BC, and it was a major port until the rise of Roman Salona overshadowed it; when Salona fell, its citizens took refuge in Trogir. The town paid tribute to Croatian rulers and Byzantium from the 9th century, gained a diocese in the 11th and, in 1107, a charter of autonomy from King Coloman of Hungary and Croatia. In 1123 the Saracens took the town and razed most of it, but it recovered to prosper in the 12th and 13th centuries, and in 1242 King Béla IV found refuge here from the Mongols, who could not storm the island city. From 1420 Venice ruled Trogir for nearly four centuries, a period of wealth seen in its Renaissance art and architecture, and around 1650 a manuscript of Petronius' Satyricon was discovered here; the historic centre has been a World Heritage Site since 1997 (Wikipedia, Trogir).

What to look for

• Radovan's portal - the 1240 carved west door of St Lawrence's cathedral.
• The cathedral bell tower - a steep climb for the view over the roofs and the channel.
• Kamerlengo Fortress - the Venetian tower at the island's western end.
• The Riva - the waterfront promenade, best in the evening passeggiata.

When to go

Shoulder season, May to June and September to October, is markedly better than midsummer, when Trogir is close to Split airport and takes the full weight of arrivals. Evenings are the town's best hours, once the day groups have gone.

Before you go

Trogir is very small and very popular, and in August the main street becomes a slow-moving queue. It is also right under the flight path for Split airport. Half a day is genuinely enough unless you are staying, and staying overnight is what turns it from a stop into a place.

Nearby

Split and Diocletian's Palace are half an hour east; Čiovo island has the closest beaches.

Key facts