Ivica Profaca

Ivica Profaca is a journalist with decades of experience, and strong connection with Split, city where he was born, and where and with which he still lives. With this series of blogs he shows Split as he see it, and as he would like you to see it. Contact writer via: iprofaca@gmail.com
  • Traffic in Split Has New Rules

    Starting in June, Split will introduce new regime of traffic within harbour and closer to the city centre, aiming to reduce gridlocks and to improve flow of large number of vehicles which now sometime create long lines and waiting. It's especially important for public transportation system, and tour buses and coaches. It's extremely important for everyone, ranging from guests to guides to agencies, learn about new situation. To avoid all misunderstands, and to improve how well everyone is ... More

  • Enjoy Split Even When It Rains (2)

    Last couple of weeks Split and most of Dalmatia had weather that made this area look almost British - rain, rain, rain. And then some sun to make us hope summer is coming. And then rain again. Even jokes broke out, like that summer is waiting until everyone lose some weight to hit a beach. Or that we have to collect firewoods to survive this summer. Or that Game of Thrones' motto Winter is coming became real. Forecast for the next week is as miserable as it was recently, with temperatures under ... More

  • Saint Domnius Day: New (and Old) Top 10 Things Not To Miss

    Three years ago I wrote here a blog with Top 10 things not to be missed during festivities of Saint Domnius' Day, locally known as Sudamja (pron. Soodamyah). I believe it's time to create a new list, with some new and some old events and customs. Sudamja is by far the biggest local holiday in Split, celebrated for centuries on May 7. It's dedicated to the city's patron saint, early Christian bishop in nearby Roman City of Salona, executed in 304 AD. History can bring strange twists, like in ... More

  • Guardians of Emperor's Greatness

    If you ask any tour guide what raises the most questions while sightseeing Split ­- and I can witness that from my experience - sphynxes would probably be among top three. What those ancient Egyptian statues do in Split, who brought them here, are they original, when they will be returned, can we touch it, those are just some of questions curious visitors usually ask. Sphynxes of Split are also probably among top five the most photographed. Who would resist, after all? So, let's try to ... More

  • Carnival Time is Back in Town

    You might get frozen in the last day or two, experiencing Dalmatian bura at its best (or worst, depending if you were caught somewhere outside), but on Tuesday, March 5, you'll have an opportunity to heat up. Yes, it's a Carnival time! As tradition orders for centuries, same as in many other places around the world, Fat Tuesday is time when all brakes should be released, just before Ash Wednesday marks beginning of Lent in Christian world. Split is not different. Festivities in Split already ... More

  • Please be Patient, Marjan Under Treatment

    Next to the Diocletian's Palace and beaches, Marjan forest park is probably the most popular point for any visitor coming to Split. For us who live in Split, this little green hill overlooking and guarding our city is even more important, and it's been described in this blog. There are endless paths, beaches, natural beauty, viewpoints, medieval churches wherever you look, and symbolic meaning of Marjan is deeply written in Split city spirit. It's enough to say that about a hundred years ago ... More

  • Directions by Memory

    Whenever you talk with some "Splićanin" (you know that, a someone living in, or originated from Split), there is a pretty big chance that at some point you will be introduced to endless string of something "former", or "old". It's more simple than it sounds. When in need to explain some location, average "Splićanin" will rarely use an address. More likely, we like to describe some building or a spot according to what it used to be. It's not limited only ... More

  • State of Mind on Two Wheels

    Maybe it's about the weather, maybe it's because its see-and-be-seen mentality, but one of the main elements of city life in Split is to be present at its main spots. And not just any way. Just walk across Riva on a sunny Saturday morning, and check out real street fashion show, with sunglasses as almost a uniform. There is, beside sunglasses, one very special accessory that is almost "must have" for anyone who wants to be seen, and remembered. Just check parking lots on both sides of ... More

  • Guardians of Split's Spirit

    What makes a spirit of any city, including Split? Yes, there is heritage, sports, art, architecture and many other things I've been writing about in this blog. But one thing is probably the most important; people. I'm not talking only about all those famed, distinguished residents of Split who left their strong mark in history. Split has its own, little big characters known to everyone, no matter how they might look small and non-important. A Mediterranean at its best. There are such two ... More

  • Celebrating Modern Split

    When one speaks about architecture in Split, first and second thought is always city's Roman and medieval heritage. Visitors concentrate on the historical core, amazed with continuity of life 17 centuries long. But there is more. New York Museum of Modern Art recently exhibited some of the highlights of post-WW2 architecture in former Yugoslavia, and Split has its place in it, with some of its finest modern age structures. Among hundreds of exhibits on "Toward a Concrete Utopia" ... More