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History of the Split City Museum |
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Salona |
The beginnings of
museum activities in Split and the first collection of heritage pieces
are linked with Papalić Palace, today home of
the Split City Museum. In the late 15th and early 16th century this Gothic
and Renaissance palace was in the possession of the Split's noble family
Papalić and housed the collection of Roman stone monuments, found and
recovered at Salona. On their rounds of the Salona ruins, Marko Marulić
and Dmine Papalić collected and studied Roman inscriptions and Papalić
had these inscriptions built into the courtyard of his palace. Dmine Papalić,
to whom Marulić had dedicated the published collection of the inscriptions,
belonged to the well-to-do class of eminent humanists residing in Split,
then a relatively small town. He performed many public duties in the late
15th and early 16th century Split. The artefacts remained on the same
location until 1885 when they were, for the most part, moved to the building
of the Museum of Archaeology near the Silver Gate.
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The
City Museum was in the second half of the 19th century intimately related
to the City Library (today University Library) which was intended by its
founder and first director Dušan Mangjer to fulfil the educational and
cultural needs of Split’s inhabitants. From 1915, this institution began
a systematic collecting of artefacts and materials for the future museum
housed in Bernardi Palace, a structure built on the remains of Renaissance
walls from the 16th century.
From 1925 onward, the institution had a large reading room and auxiliary
rooms. Two second floor rooms of Bernardi Palace were occupied by the
Museum and History Department that would eventually grow into an independent
institution.
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The City Museum was
founded in 1946 and became known under this name two years later. The first
director was Marko Uvodić, author of numerous short stories and chronicler
of Split life. He was succeeded by Ćiro Čičin-Šain, journalist and author
deeply interested in the archives material.
A crucial event in the Museum’s history was a large cultural and historic
exhibition put on in 1950 at the initiative of JAZU (Yugoslav Academy of
Arts and Sciences) and the Ministry of Culture. The occasion was the 500th
anniversary of the birth of Marko Marulić. The exhibition occupied the ground
floor and the first floor of Papalić Palace. After
the exhibition, this space was permanently donated to the Museum. |
The
Museum was opened to the public in 1952 with a partial collection that
comprised the history of the autonomous municipality and Venetian rule,
while the ground floor was occupied by the collection of arms used in
city defence. From 1960 to 1979, Duško Kečkemet, student of Split history
and art, was acting Museum director and an instigator of many valuable
editions and professional publications. |
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From 1984 began a general reconstruction and extension of the Museum complex,
completed in 1992 when, for the first time in history, the Museum’s integral
permanent collection was opened to the public. The relatively late structural
addition over the central building was removed and many architecturally
valuable features in the interior and on the façade were reconstructed
or renovated. The last, third stage, in the reconstruction of the north-west
section of the Museum complex (the Katić House) is not completed yet.
For the first time, after the Museum was established in 1915, it was possible
to exhibit the collection that presents the cultural and historic heritage
of the city. The Museum is also home to the Emanuel Vidović Gallery, dedicated
to the most important Split painter of the 20th century and one of the
best-known protagonists of Croatian modern painting.
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