This tour includes the visit of two UNESCO World heritage sites: St. James Cathedral in Sibenik and the old town of Trogir.

 

After the meeting we will drive to Sibenik in approx. 1 h 30 minutes. Šibenik, considered to be the oldest native Croatian city, is a small town located in the natural harbour some 80 km North-West from Split.

 

On our walking tour we will firstly visit the old town of Sibenik: a place rich of history, with numerous churches, palaces, small squares, narrow streets and vaulted passages, but above all, the place where the St.James Cathedral is located, UNESCO World Heritage site and masterpiece of George of Dalmatia (Juraj Dalmatinac also known as Giorgio Orsini) and Nicolas of Florence (Nikola Firentinac). St. James Cathedral, built over more than a century with a contribution of a large number of local stone-dressers, builders and artisans, is a unique Croatian and European architectonic piece of art, built entirely of stone using no binding materials! We will make our first stop to see the enterior of the cathedral and to admire all the 71 realistic sculptural portraits around the apses from the outside of the structure.

 

The main city square, with St. James Cathedral and the statue of Girogio Orsini, the City Hall, the Venetian Duke's Palace, the Bishop's Palace and the old Sea Gate (the entrance to the city from the shore), are the most representative and pictoresque places inside the old town of Sibenik and probably the most beautiful town square of Croatia’s urban heritage.

 

Near the central city square we will also visit the Square of the Four Wells with the famous „Four Wells Reservoir“. Built during the Venetian governement of the city in 1451 when the city lacked of water, the reservoir has been supplying citizens with water for four and a half centuries!

 

Waking along the city promenade we will reach the remains of the city walls and head up to the the St. Michael's Fortress. Located at 70 meters above the sea behind the old city core, the Medieval fortress of St. Michael is an ideal place to enjoy the great panorama over the old town and the sea.

 

After a short break at the fortress, we will return to the old town walking through pictoresque streets of Sibenik and passing by numerous churches, palaces (among which the famous architect's Orsini House), narrow passages and hidden corners, all to dicover on our way back to the starting point of the tour.

 

We will end our Sibenik city tour walking by the Croatian National Theatre and finally reaching the St. Francis' Church and Monastery located at the beggining of the city promenade.

 

From there we will take the ride to visit the 3 famous fortifications surrounding the city: The Fortress of St. John and Šubićevac Fortress, both built in the 17th century to protect the city from the Turkish envasions from the land, and finally the The St. Nicholas Fortress, located at the entrance to the St. Anthony's Channel. Built in the 16th century as defense from Turkish attacks from the sea, the fortress of St. Nicholas is one of the strongest fortifications and the most important renaissance fortress on the Croatian coast. After a short break at the fortress, we will take the ride towards the city of Trogir (approx. 50 minutes depending on traffic).

 

Trogir is a small town located some 30 km west from Split, since 1997 listed on UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites as the best preserved Romanesque-Gothic town in Central Europe. The old core of the city is in fact an island separated by the channel from the shore and connected by the bridge to the island of Ciovo on the southern side. Due mainly to these caractheristics, along with the impressive Venetian cultural and architectural heritage of the city, Trogir is also know as the "Little Venice".

 

The old town of Trogir has been mainly formed between the 13th and 15th century, within the massive defensive walls, restored by the Venice later on in the 15th century together with the construction of two defensive fortifications that are still completely preserved: The Kamerlengo fortress and the Tower of St. Marc.

 

Our Trogir walking tour starts from the renaissance northern town gate from 17th century with the sculpture of John Orsini, the saint patron of the town. Through the narrow streets of the old town we will firstly reach the main city square and the St. Lawrence Cathedral with the famous Radovan's Portal, a masterpiece from 13th century. Next to the cathedral you will see the town loggia, the city hall, the church of St.Sebastian and the church of Saint Barbara from 11th century, the oldest preserved Croatian church in Trogir.

 

Walking towards the southern town gate, along the city promenade and inside the old town core you will discover many other churches, palaces and hidden corners wich make this city so unique.

 

On the western side of the city promenade we will take insight into the Kamerlengo Fortress to enjoy the beautiful view over the bay and the old city. Passing by the Marshal Marmont's gloriette, the sculpture built during the Napoleon wars, we will finally reach the Tower of St. Marc, the defensive fortification built in the 15th century.