Temple of Jupiter

Tucked into the western sector of the palace, the Temple of Jupiter is the best-preserved Roman structure in Diocletian's Palace after the mausoleum. Built as the imperial family's private temple, it was later repurposed as a Christian baptistery, which is why it's survived intact: the barrel-vaulted ceiling with its original Roman relief decoration, the Sphinxes flanking the entrance (real Egyptian imports), and the medieval baptismal font made from a Roman sarcophagus are all still in place.

The interior is tiny — you can touch both walls with your arms outstretched — but the quality of the stonework is exceptional. The entrance is just off the main Peristyle; the sphinx on the left has its head intact, the one on the right was decapitated at some point in the early Christian period. Access is by the same ticket that covers the cathedral bell tower.

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The Temple of Jupiter is the only Roman temple in the Dalmitian coastal cities to have survived almost completely intact. It survived because it was converted into a Christian baptistery in the early medieval period — the same Christians who defaced or demolished most other pagan temples in the empire preserved this one by filling the barrel-vaulted interior with holy water and a headless statue of John the Baptist. The head belongs to a sarcophagus lid in the atrium.

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