Diocletian's Cellars

Diocletian’s Cellars are recognizable by the vast, barrel-vaulted stone chambers and labyrinthine passages that sit directly beneath the southern half of the city’s historic center. Built around the turn of the fourth century, these rooms were not originally intended for people, but as an elevated foundation. Because the ground sloped down toward the sea, Roman engineers constructed this entire subterranean level first to create a flat, stable platform for Emperor Diocletian’s private imperial apartments above.