Cipiko Palace

Cipiko Palace is one of the grandest noble houses of Trogir, a small town on an island between the mainland and the island of Čiovo, in central Dalmatia, whose old centre is listed by UNESCO. It stands on the main square, directly opposite the cathedral of St. Lawrence, and its position, in the middle of the most important public space of the town, reflects the status of the family that built it. Trogir was ruled by Venice for several centuries, and its local nobility, among them the Cipiko, who are known in Italian as the Cippico, held positions in the city government and in the Venetian military.

The palace is not a single building but a complex put together over generations. Its origins lie in the Middle Ages, and the Cipiko family bought and rebuilt neighbouring houses, linking them to create a large residence with an inner courtyard. Most of what is visible today dates from the fifteenth century, when the family was at the height of its influence, and the style is Venetian Gothic with some Renaissance touches. The best-known member of the family was Koriolan Cipiko, a humanist, a writer and a commander in the Venetian navy, who wrote an account of a naval campaign against the Ottomans in the 1470s and is regarded as one of the notable figures of Trogir's Renaissance.

The most striking feature of the facade is the Gothic triple-arched window and balcony on the first floor, with delicate stone tracery, which is typical of Venetian palaces on the Adriatic. The portal below is decorated with carved stone details, and inscriptions in Latin are found on the building, in line with the humanist taste of the family. The stone is the pale local limestone, which turns golden in the afternoon light, and its warmth contrasts with the grey of the surrounding streets. Unlike the cathedral, the palace is not usually open to the public, and the interior can be seen only on special occasions, so the facade and courtyard from the street are the main attraction.

The square is the centre of life in Trogir. Next to the palace stands the Town Loggia, once the seat of justice, and nearby are St. Sebastian's church and clock tower, the Kamerlengo Fortress, the North Gate, the monastery of St. Dominic and the waterfront promenade, the Riva, all listed in this guide. The town is compact, and a walk through it takes only an hour or two, though it rewards slow wandering.

The palace is visible at any time, in daylight or lit in the evening. Combine it with a visit to the cathedral, whose Romanesque portal by Master Radovan is one of the masterpieces of medieval sculpture in Croatia. The palace suits architecture lovers and anyone who wants to understand how a Venetian-era town looked and worked.