Day 16 -- Split

Charlotte: This morning we took a trip to the Institute of Adriatic Cultures. Currently the University of Georgia’s agriculture department has a grant though the USDA to help Croatia develop their pomegranate and kale farming. We toured their wine lab and their olive oil labs. It was very interesting to learn about wine testing and olive oil testing for the best ones. This institute has olive oil and wine making down to a science and they inform the Croatian people how to better their plants for production. Most of us had never been to a facility like this and it was very beneficial for us because we could taste the Croatian olive oils that we may want to take home as gifts.

We then departed for Split (pronounced SPLEET), where we visited Diocletian’s Palace. Split is a very fascinating town because it is almost all surrounding the palace. The part of the palace we visited was the basement however; many things were built up as it was during the era that it was built. The palace was very beautiful and really gave us an idea of how these people lived. After our tour we went and walked around the palace explored Split, this town’s economy is driven by tourism and has a lot of very cool shops and restaurants. Split also has a university and it was a very vibrant city to visit.

Colin: Our last stop for the day was the gallery, and former home, of the famous Croatian sculptor, Ivan Mestrovic, whose work we had become familiar with during our travels through Croatia. An anti-Communist, he refused to return to Croatia after WWII, however, before his death in 1962, he sent 59 of his works to Croatia and willed his estate in Croatia to the "Croatia people." This site is now a museum of his works.