Wednesday, 4^th May, 2011; Split

The storm we were expecting came through last night. The neighbouring large yacht came perilously close to our bow; we had to shout to raise anyone aboard.

The new day is fresh and clear so we hop in a taxi and go to the Archaeological museum for our first appointment. They were not expecting us but after a few phone calls, we convinced them to let us in to film there. The courtyard looks like a Roman cloister with a lean-to roof and massive wooden beams. All around are bits of Roman marble, sarcophagi, stelae and statues. We make straight for two magnificent tessellated pavements now mounted and framed. I think these are my favourite objects from Antiquity, so vibrant and immediate do they appear to the modern eye. Inside the border are mythical scenes, depictions of birds and animals and in the central roundel a portrait of a god. William and I struggle with our sixth form Latin to translate inscriptions on the stelae without much success.

We pack up and rush to the Art museum where Jozip Dini, the curator, greets us; he is expecting us and is welcoming, although he struggles with his English - it is a great deal better than our Croatian. He is our age with grey hair and a beard; he looks professorial. The museum has works from the renaissance to contemporary but seemingly mostly 20^th C. The quality is high and we find three or four pieces that resonate with us particularly. They are a series of pre-war landscapes in a loose post-impressionist style with a flavour of Gaugin by Ignjat Job including a view of the harbour in Komitza where we have just been. A picture of a red scorpion fish by Petar Dobrovic took my eye. It is painted in a rough, confident style; we like its bright free expressionism.

After the gallery, we feel hungry. Jozip suggest we try a local restaurant called Kod Joze cellar, we order seafood and a large fresh Scorpion fish which is delicious. Alvaro eats a great many chips and we all share great platters of clams and risotto

Thursday, May 5, 2011; Split and Salona

At nine in the morning our guide, Mario, arrives as planned to take us to the Roman site of Salona about five miles out of town. It is a beautiful, warm day but neither of us remembers to bring sunscreen and I forget my hat; there is so much planning to do and so much to think of.

The filming gets off to a bad start as Mario’s English isn’t great; he is stiff and reluctant in front off the camera, finding it hard to be concise; his answers are far too long and rambling. The ruins of the Basilica cover a large area but we aren’t that interested in the Romano-Christian period. My attention is drawn to the magnificent carvings on the Roman sarcophagi that are lying around in a jumble. There are beautiful reliefs of griffons, sphinxes, medusas and a bacchanalian scene with winged cherubs and bunches of grapes. Curious signs appear on more than once coffin suggesting some sort of family emblem. Each stone sarcophagus is carved from a single block of marble with a separate lid that has a pitched roof and four stone shoulders. Derek and I stand by the finest example where I express a wish to be buried in just such a casket but Derek insists I will be burn – he’s in charge.

After the basilica, we walk on to the magnificent amphitheatre dating from the 2^nd C BC that must have held about 17,000 spectators. It was here that Diocletian killed many Christians including the local Archbishop Domnius in 304 AD, just a few years before Emperor Constantine converted the Empire to Christianity. Not much remains of the amphitheatre as the Venetians, Turks and Austrians robbed its stones successively. During Tito’s time, a road was built right next to this important site and a hideous row of gasometers; the communists were no respecters of culture. The remains of the structure still has excellent acoustics, the sound of our voices is amplified in a marvelous way as we stroll around discussing the awful fate of the Christians, gladiators and slaves that were sacrificed for the amusement of others.

My attention, as always, is drawn to the beautiful flowers growing out of the ruins. There were poppies, of course, prickly thistle that was everywhere I put my hands or my bottom and the one I relished most, the intense bright green and yellow of a small fleshy leaved plant with yellow star-shaped flowers, Sedum acre, the Wallpepper; it seems to find a toe-hold where there is no apparent soil.

Salona was originally an Illyrian settlement and then a Greek one before becoming the capital city of Roman Dalmatia. The site is huge and we can only manage to see a small part of it. In about 614 AD the city was sacked by Slavs consequently the Romanized population migrated to Diocletian’s former palace in Split and Salona was abandoned to weeds and the ravishes of time.

We felt we deserved a good lunch and so repaired to the same excellent restaurant as yesterday where William and Alvaro bought us a delicious lunch. It was with great sadness that we waived them both goodbye after a great week together.

Friday, 6^th May, 2011; Split and voyage to Sibenik.

After a calm and uneventful passage of about four hours, we anchored in the splendid natural harbour of Sibenik. The final approach is down a twisting narrow channel with a fort duly positioned to demolish any intrepid intruder.

Sibenik is an ancient Croat town built around an earlier Illyrian encampment. The earliest reference to the city is in 1066. Forts were constructed on the hills above the town then a wall and later a double wall was built to enclose it. By the early 15^th C, Sibenik was in Venetian hands and remained so, like most of Dalmatia, until the fall of Venice. The Turks were a constant threat, their border was a mere 15 kms inland, but they never took the city.

The city built a magnificent cathedral out of stone, even the barrel vaulted roof is made of stone slabs fitted together without mortar. It takes pride of place on one side of the main town square. The old part of town possesses an atmosphere of timelessness and venerable age marred only by a few modern doors and ubiquitous electric cables.

I have so much preparation and telephoning to do that I leave Derek to go with Alex and Bruce to the fish market. They chatted to stall holders and bought a huge amount of food. Derek took a great picture of Alex in a butcher’s shop, naked to the waist, next to a lamb carcass – meat meets meat. Then he met a choir of all-male Capella singers, filmed them and bought their music with the right to use it in the film, should we decide to do so.