SPLIT Dalmatia Croatia - Travel Guide Map

Church and Monastery of St. Anthony

 

The Franciscan Church and Monastery of St. Anthony are located on the north side of Split, along the shallow Kaštela Bay, and date from around 1020.g. First it was managed by the Benedictines, and in the 15th century they were allowed to build a monastery near the abandoned church.

 

You can find different names for this complex of Gothic-Renaissance style. One of them is the Poljud monastery. The name Poljud derives from the Latin word swamp (paludes) since, until recently, this area was covered with water. Another name is the Franciscan Church and Monastery of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and it is also referred to as the Franciscan Monastery and the church of St. Anthony. 

 

The Franciscan church and its monastery are the most valuable Gothic-Renaissance complex in Split.

 

Several tombstones of local noble families (Alberti, Benedetti, Cuteis, Capogrosso, Florio, Marulić, Petrachis etc.) have been placed in the Renaissance cloister, above which a picturesque tower was erected. Among them is the tombstone of the bishop and humanist Toma Nigris, whose portrait by Lorenzo Lotto is kept in the precious monastery. 

 

Among the values that adorn this church, we should mention its altar polyptych, its integral part is one of the oldest known representations of Split (by Santa Croce); and the more interesting rare display of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

 

The church and monastery have a nice collection of silver liturgical artifacts. The oldest object is a Gothic drawer for incense from the 15th century and a Gothic-Renaissance crucifix from the 16th century. The Museum also stows precious valuables from the monastery library, such as the Bull by Pope Callistus III in 1457, which gave redemption to those who, on the Virgin’s feast days and on the first Sundays of the month, visited the Poljud sanctuary and gave donations for its construction.  See also Psalter by Frane Razmilović, Evangeliarium By Marko Marulić (1516), and 26 incunabula. 

 

The complex is located behind the football stadium in Poljud.