Peristyle

The Peristyle is a grand, rectangular courtyard defined by a series of monumental stone columns and rounded arches that form the central square of Diocletian’s Palace. Built between two hundred ninety-five and three hundred five C.E., this space served as the ceremonial entrance to the emperor’s private apartments. Its architectural character is anchored by granite columns brought from Egypt, alongside locally quarried limestone from the island of Brac. A three-thousand-five-hundred-year-old Egyptian sphinx still watches over the square today.