Prokurative, or officially Republic Square, is a famous
Mediterranean square in the center of the city of Split, west of
Diocletian's Palace, also known as the stage of cultural events in
the city under Marjan. The traditional festival of popular music
"Split" has been held at Prokurative for almost fifty years.
History
Construction 1863-1867
Mayor Dr. Bajamonti had a
far-reaching goal to create from Split, as he put it "città del
avvenire" (City of the Future), so he put a lot of effort into
building and arranging Split to turn a neglected provincial town
into a small advanced European city. Guided by the motto "Volere è
potere" (Wanting to be able) immediately after taking office as
mayor, he set about realizing his plans. For this purpose he founded
the society "Associazione dalmatica" (Dalmatian Association).
The theater building built on Marmontova Poljana formed the
backbone of the future Prokurative complex. The Teatro Bajamonti was
inaugurated on December 27, 1859. Bajamonti's further plan was to
build two wings, a building complex called the Procurative according
to the famous Venetian Procuratives.
On May 15, 1882, the
Bajamonti Theater was destroyed in a fire, and the building was
later restored, but not in its original form (in modern times, it
housed the "Marjan" and "Youth Theater" cinemas).
In the
period from 1863 to 1867, the west wing of the complex was built in
the Neo-Renaissance style according to the project of the architect
G. B. Meduna.
In 1899, a fence made of stone pillars, made
during Bajamonti's time, was erected on the south side of Marmont
Field. In 1905, the west wing was renovated and cement masquerades
and friezes were added.
Construction 1909-1928
Construction of the east wing of the Procuratorate began in 1909 and
took place in two periods; from 1909 to 1911 and from 1927 to 1928.
The first part of the east wing was built by the Viennese
construction company "Unionbaugesellschaft".