Trogir is a true gem, and even though it is such a small town our experience didn't fit into one post, so let's continue where we left off last time.
We enjoyed the local market where we purchased those 'best soaps' in the world, and continued back to the old town. But first let me tell you about those soaps. I'm sorry to say that they are in fact not the best soap in the world. They smell nice, they are soft and creamy, but they literally melt in your hands! They're soft like butter, and therefore you always use more than you need. Not the best purchase ever, but they do remind me of that lady who sold them to us, and when I remember her 'performance' I can't help it but smile. And you know what? I would probably buy them again from her anyway.
I don't want to sidetrack too much, so get ready for views like this!
Last time, we entered the old town on the other side of the island, and this time we will go through The Southern Gate. The gate dates to the 16th century, and all of its parts are original.
There was a group of tourists with a guide in front of the gate and we overheard some fun facts about it. In the past, it used to be closed in the early evening, so everyone who wanted to return back later couldn't enter the old town and had to spend the night in front of the town fortification. No late drinks!
Behind the gate are narrow cobble-stoned streets that were packed with people, and it took ages to walk through. Such places give me anxiety, so I tried to focus on what was above us to calm down, and it did help. I didn't manage to take many photos as it's difficult when you're part of such crowd, but here is one just to give you an idea.
These high walls with small bricks transport you to medieval times. It didn't look much different all those years back, and I've tried to imagine all of these people dressed in period clothes walking to the market to purchase their food for the week. It made me feel better.
Finally (after what felt like an eternity) we reached the main square. At first, I thought that we would only walk around and admire historic landmarks that encircle this square, but then I noticed a couple of people in the bell tower, so we decided to follow their steps and admire Trogir and its surroundings from above.
St. Lawrence Cathedral is one of the most important landmarks in Trogir. Its construction took more than 400 years because it was damaged when the town was attacked. The most recent part of the construction is the bell tower, and you can see that it resembles the bell tower in Split. Luckily, this time I had proper shoes, so I wouldn't be afraid of losing my slipper again.
You can purchase your ticket in front of the cathedral, but I must admit that I'm not sure how exactly it works as we got the tickets for the bell tower too. It's a functioning church, so I imagine that if you only want to visit the cathedral to pray you should be able to do so without a ticket, but don't quote me on that.
The gate to the cathedral is a beautiful piece of art from the 13th century. The upper part depicts the events from the life of Jesus Christ, and on the sides you can see daily activities of the locals over a year. There are so many events and activities that it's impossible to notice them all. The artist was well aware of his greatness and he considered himself the best in this art, so he added it in Latin on the gate.
I spent some time looking at the gate and realized that the peasants are depicted at the bottom, and they seem to carry the pillars. The higher you look the more wealth you see.
I just don't know if this is a dog or a strange lion or maybe something else...
The cathedral was mainly built in the 13th century, and most of the features are in the Romanesque style. There are many sculptures and just a little bit of color in the decoration. The main altar is in the far back, and we couldn't get closer, but even from some distance I could see some beautiful details of the ciborium.
Probably the most important part of the cathedral is The Funerary chapel of St. John which is considered to be the finest piece of Renaissance work in Croatia. In the center of the chapel is the sarcophagus of St. John which is surrounded by sculptures of various saint.
Some parts of the cathedral like these vaults were built much later...
A few more details before going to the bell tower...
Outside of the cathedral and on the right side of the entrance to the bell tower is the baptistery from the 14th century. These children don't look happy, and I'm not surprised as I wouldn't be too thrilled to carry such thing either!
The entrance to the bell tower is a narrow stone staircase. I don't remember how many stairs there were, but after a short while we reached a large balcony with views all over the main square and beyond. I couldn't wait to go higher, but I took my time and walked around. It was crazy windy, but at least it didn't rain like it did when we visited the cathedral in Split.
Here we have the view of the main square with other important landmarks...
On the left there is The St. Sebastian church with the clock tower, and on the right is The Town Loggia or The Old Courhouse. The church was built in the last free spot of the square, and this is why it is so narrow.
From the balcony we entered the bell tower. There is some climbing ahead of us!
The views started to open up in front of us...
We had enough time to take it all in as there were only a couple of people, so we didn't have to rush up and down the staircase not to be in the way.
There was a steep metal staircase leading to the top of the bell tower. This construction that you can see around the bell was down to the floor, so it was difficult to navigate around it. My husband didn't even try as there were a few other people and not enough space, so I took some photos and then we walked back down.
It's such a charming town!
Lucky to have good shoes this time ๐
From the bell tower we walked to the car, but we didn't want to return back to Split yet, so we decided to drive to the island of ฤiovo.
Last glimpse of Trogir before leaving...
The initial plan was to drive around, and maybe stop once or twice when we would see something interesting. We ended up stopping at least ten times!
We loved the views...
There was an open restaurant at one of the beaches, so we ordered a cup of tea because it was so cold, and I couldn't help but admire the persistence of two kite surfers who seemed to have the best time of their lives while we were freezing in our warmest clothes that we brought with us to Croatia ๐
This is the end of our Trogir adventure and I hope that you have enjoyed your time with us.
Thank you for reading!
Cheers,
Martina