Ethnographic Museum

The Ethnographic Museum is housed within the imperial apartments of Diocletian's Palace — the only museum in the world that occupies the living quarters of a Roman emperor — and traces the folk culture of Dalmatia from the 17th century to the present through costumes, textiles, tools, and reconstructed interiors. The setting alone makes the visit worthwhile: the museum's rooms are arranged around the vestibule (a circular domed hall that was Diocletian's audience chamber) and provide access to the palace's southern terrace with views across the Riva and the harbour.

The collection's highlights include the elaborate gold-embroidered costumes of Konavle (south of Dubrovnik), the distinctive black-and-red striped textiles of the Dinaric zone, and the silver jewellery worn as dowry by women of the Zagora region inland from Split. The museum also includes a small ethnographic collection of musical instruments — the diple (bagpipes), gusle (single-string fiddle), and lirica (rebec) that accompanied traditional Dalmatian singing.