CATHEDRAL OF ST. LAWRANCE
Trogir's grandest building is the church of St. Lawrence,
whose main west portal is a masterpiece by sculptor and architect Radovan, and
the most significant work of the Romanesque-Gothic style in Croatia. Since its
construction lasted several centuries, it illustrates all the styles that
succeeded one another in Dalmatia. It was built on the foundations of an
earliy-Christian cathedral destroyed in the 12th century during the sack of the
town by the Saracens in 1123. The present building was begun in 1213 and
finished during the 17th century.
RADOVAN'S PORTAL OF ST. LAWRENCE CATHEDRAL
The Croatian architect Master sculptor Radovan worked on the cathedral's
gateway (main west portal of St. Lawrence cathedral)) early in its
construction. Radovan's masterwork - Main portal is the greatest and the
most important monument of medieval sculpture, not only in Croatia but also
in all Balkans. Most of the portal was carved by the master himself.
Finished and signed in 1240, it is a monumental and perhaps unique work of
this great Croatian artist, of whom the inscription on the base of the
lunette says: "the best of all in this artisanship". Beside the portal,
standing on the backs of two lions, stand the figures of our sinful
ancestors, Adam and Eve
