Cathedral of St. Lawrence

The Cathedral of St. Lawrence is the centrepiece of Trogir's UNESCO-protected old town and one of the finest medieval churches on the Adriatic coast. Construction spanned four centuries, from the 13th to the 17th, and the result is a building that moves through Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance styles as you walk around it. The bell tower is a particularly fine piece of late Gothic work, with elaborate stone tracery and a Renaissance loggia at the base.

The interior houses the Chapel of St. John of Trogir, a Renaissance masterpiece by Nicola di Giovanni Fiorentino completed around 1468. The chapel's carved reliefs, vaulted ceiling, and stone altarpiece are extraordinary — and because Trogir is far less visited than Dubrovnik or Split, you can often stand in the chapel alone, which is a luxury that comparable spaces in more famous cities do not afford. Admission to the cathedral and the bell tower is charged separately; climbing the tower gives a fine view over the terracotta rooftops of the island town.

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A story
The west portal of the Cathedral of St. Lawrence, carved by the master sculptor Radovan and completed in 1240, is considered the finest example of Romanesque-Gothic sculpture in all of Croatia. The two lions at the base support columns that in turn support figures of Adam and Eve — both depicted with visible shame, their hands raised to their faces. Radovan signed his work on the lintel, one of the earliest known artist signatures in Croatian art.