Kastela attractions

Kastela includes seven towns located on the Adriatic coast from Split to Trogir, a total length of almost 20 km.The seven towns are: Kastela Novi, Kastela Gomilica, Kastela Luksic, Kastela Sucurac, Kastela Stari, Kastela Kambelovac, Kastela Stafic.

The city was founded by the Greeks near Salon (now Split) and used as a seaport at that time. However, when the Romans came to rule, Kastela became a resort where Roman veterans spent their leisure time. When the empire collapsed, the city changed rulers several times, until in 1420 Venice took over. During this period, the rich families of the townspeople built luxurious palaces for themselves, some of which can still be seen in the city today.

During the XV-XVI centuries on the coastal strip of 16 km were built 13 fortifications to protect against the Turks. Only 7 of them have survived. It is these 13 fortifications that gave the city its name. Kastel means fortification, fortress.

One of the surviving fortresses of Kastel, Staftileo, was built in 1508 in Kastel Stafilic. In Kastel Novi, you should see the grand palace Cipiko, built in 1512, and in Kastel Luksic the Vitturi palace, built in 1564. Another palace is the palace of the Kambi family, which was built in 1517 in Kaštele Kambelovac.

Tourists are especially interested in the Biblical garden. It is a picturesque park where you can see many plants found in the Bible. The garden is decorated with numerous creations of talented Croatian sculptors. In addition, in the city there is a unique olive tree, whose age is more than a thousand and a half years.

Church of St. John the Baptist in Kastel Stari

The Church of St. John the Baptist is one of the most original and beautiful cultural monuments with Baroque features. According to an inscription carved on one of the walls of the church, it was built in 1714 with donations from parishioners.

Archaeological research conducted here in 1990 confirmed that the church was built on the foundations of an earlier church. Such constructions were quite common in the 18th century.

The altars of the church were made in the Baroque style: decorations of stucco, sculptures of light marble and wood, silver candelabrums - all of these are preserved and are still available for viewing today.

All the altars are mentioned in the church inventory of 1759. Four altars are set along the walls, two side altars are set toward the north and south, and two more are set opposite the main altar. The main altar is dedicated to St. John the Baptist and the Holy Gifts, the side altars to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary and St. Felicius.

Tower in Kastel Kambelovac

Kastel Kambelovac is located between the districts of Kaštel Luksic and Kastel Gomilika. Unlike other settlements Kastel Kambelovac was not formed around a summer villa, but near several forts, built in the XV-XVI centuries. The settlements near the walls of the fortifications gradually expanded and eventually merged into one.

Kambelovac was named after the Kambi family and their cylindrical fort. In 1478, Prince Andrew Grigorio of Split granted two brothers Jerolimus and Nicolas Cambi, noblemen from Split, a small plot of land located on the Adriatic coast. They built a fort there that would serve as protection from the Ottomans for the villagers of Lazanj and Krusevik.

From the fort of Kambi, which consisted of several rounded towers, built in 1566, and from the castle located in the western part of the village of Kambelovac until today only one tower has survived. Locals named it Kambi Tower in honor of the destroyed fort. It is a three-storey structure with machicolations on the roof. Earlier the tower, which has an outer diameter of 5.7 meters, was surrounded by a stone wall with a hinged brick loophole.

A well-preserved house with a Renaissance balcony is located next the Cambie Tower. From the former fortifications of the town also survived the northern bastions and the half-ruined Kambi palace in the west of Kambelovac.

Gomilica Castle

Gomilica Castle was built by Benedictine monks from Split in the first half of the 16th century. They chose a small island, a few meters off the mainland. Subsequently, the castle was connected to the mainland by a wooden bridge.

The Benedictines built the castle to protect the farmers who worked on their lands on the western coast. In official documents, the castle was called Abadessa, but the locals called it Gomilitsa. Most likely, the island where the castle was built had that name.

Externally the castle looks rather unusual. In the southern part of the yard there is a high observation tower, which is also the main entrance to the castle. From the entrance a broad stone bridge was built much later than the castle itself.

The tower is surrounded on both sides by two and three-story buildings with bizarrely shaped roofs, covered with tiles and stone. In the village, which is opposite the castle, there is the ancient Church of St. Jerome, built in 1600.

In the same village, lovers of ancient architecture can see the Romanesque church of St. Cosmas and Damian, which was built here around the 12th century. Documents from 1495 call this church the first parish church in the area.

Vitturi Castle in Kastel Luksic

The Vitturi Castle was built by brothers James and Jerome Vitturi in the 15th century. After the fall of Bosnia in 1463, Dalmatia was open to Turkish raids. So the Vitturi brothers began building the castle on an area that by then had already been fortified by a defensive wall.

The building of Vitturi Castle lasted more than a decade. The materials for the work were provided by Venice. The castle was finished in 1564, as evidenced by an inscription on one of its walls.

The castle was surrounded by fortress walls with towers. In the southern part of the courtyard was built a two-storey residential house. The second floor of the house was decorated in the Renaissance style. In the southern part of the courtyard was a gate to the sea, and from the north the castle was surrounded by a defensive moat filled with water. A bridge led to the main gates of the castle, in case of need it was raised and separated the castle.

In 1561 the castle was reconstructed, vents were added to the first floor and balconies were decorated in the Renaissance style. The ascending wooden bridge was replaced with a stone bridge and most of the moat was filled with earth.

Researchers found stone fragments of grape and olive processing machines on the castle grounds. It is evidence of the fact that the castle had not only a military and defensive function, but also an economic one. After the disappearance of the threat of the Turks, the castle finally lost its defensive function, and during the next restoration almost all of its architectural elements were made in the Baroque style.

No member of the Vitturi dynasty lived in the castle until 1943. An elementary school was located there during the Second World War, as well as institutions for children's recreation. During the last great reconstruction (1993-2001) the castle was restored to its original form (1700). Today, the Vitturi Castle houses is the City Museum, which attracts a huge number of tourists from all over the world.

Lodi Castle

The Castle of Lodi began to built in 1548 by brothers Louis and John Lodi. But the castle was never completed because the brothers died during the construction. The son of John Lodi did not continue his father's work, only his sister Catherine remained of the family, who had no male heirs. Thus, the castle of Lodi was not completed.

In external appearance, Lodi Castle resembles a medieval stone fort with massive wooden doors leading to the mainland. Like many castles of Kastel, the construction of Lodi began on a small island, so the castle is connected to the shore by a small stone bridge.

At the end of the 17th century, the castle passed into the ownership of the noble Papalic family. The unfinished castle became a refuge for refugees from Uskok, ravaged by Turkish raids. For a long time, no one followed the condition of the castle, so it began to deteriorate and rather quickly became empty.

In 2009-2012, large-scale reconstruction of Lodi was carried out. During 2010 the floors of the building were restored, the walls were reinforced with metal structures. In addition, the castle was electrified, and at present various cultural events are held in the premises of the castle.

Pavel Cipiko Castle in Kastel Novi

The castle of Pavel Cipiko is located in the small town of Kastel Novi, which is part of the Kastel resort. The castle was built in 1512 by the nobleman Pavel Cipiko with the permission of the Venetian authorities of Trogir. The castle was built near the church of St. Peter in Klobuca.

The castle was built when firearms were first used, for this purpose special holes were made in the defensive walls for cannons. In the southern part of the castle was created a special balcony, which overlooked the gate. This was a characteristic feature of continental castles.

The castle was built as a fortified summer residence with an adjacent village for building workers. The structure has an impressive size, four floors and a small suspension bridge separating the castle from the shore.

Currently, Chipico Castle is need of restoration. There are plans to open a hotel in it, because the castle is surrounded by beautiful beaches, which could be attractive to tourists.

Stafileo Castle

In 1500, the construction of a fortification began in Kastel Stafileo, one of the districts of the city of Kastel. It is known today as Stafileo Castle or Rotondo Castle. It received its name in honor of the aristocratic families who once owned it. When the castle was completed in 1508, a fortified fort had long been under construction to protect the local peasants who lived in the medieval village of Bijaci.

The first owner of the castle, Rotondo Stefano Stafileo (Stafilic), came from the Greek island of Crete. The coat of arms of Stafilic can be seen on the plaque above the southern (sea) portal of the castle. It has a bunch of grapes, which emphasizes Stefano Stafileo's Greek origins.

Stafileo Castle consists of two parts: the northern part, which looks more like a fortification, and the southern residential part. The northern facade is decorated with a square tower, above the entrance of which there is an inscription in Latin, dated 1508. It indicates that this castle was built as a refuge for Stefano Stafilic and his neighbors from the Ottomans. Another inscription, which can be seen on the facade of the castle, is more interesting. It says that the first owner of the castle outplayed the sea god Neptune, because he built the village where the shoals of the sea were before.

Now the castle looks neglected and needs urgent repair.

Sucurac Castle

Sucurac Castle is the oldest defensive castle, built in 1392 by Archbishop Andrew Benzi to protect the peasants of the local village of Putali from outside invasions. Over time, additional buildings were built next to the castle, including the mansion of Archbishop Averaldo, built here in 1488.

The castle was severely damaged during a bombing by Anglo-American warplanes in 1943. Information about the presence of Germans on the castle's territory was false, but it did not save the castle and its inhabitants from destruction. The castle and the surrounding buildings were restored later.

In the Church of Our Lady on the castle grounds there are copies of documents related to the history of the area, dating back to 852, as well as stone and wooden Baroque sculptures from the altar and a large number of religious objects made of gold and silver (including jewelry). All this is available for viewing by all comers.

On the northern slope of Kozhak Hill, not far from the castle, are the remains of the Doromanesque church of St. George of Putalja, which was built in the 9th century. A new church was built here in 1927 and is now also open to the public.