Don Frane's research and experiences

Don Frane’s Research and Experiences

Don Frane Bulić (1846-1934) was an archaeologist, classical philologist, historian, epigrapher, conservator and politician. He was the director of the Archaeological Museum in Split for many years. He primarily conducted research in Salona, but also in other localities in Dalmatia. In his research, he achieved outstanding results in the field of classical, early Christian and national archaeology. Thanks to him, the First International Congress of Early Christian Archaeologists was held in Split and Solin. He collaborated with all domestic and foreign renowned names of archaeology, was a member of many European academies and received numerous awards and recognitions during his long life. He was buried at Manastirine in Salona, in a carved Roman sarcophagus.

At the entrance to the lapidary of the Archaeological Museum in Split, Don Frane Bulić, its director for many years, introduces himself and briefly tells the history of the Museum and how the current building was built thanks to him. Then he takes his guests on a tour of the lapidary, where the most representative stone monuments, important for the knowledge of the history of Dalmatia in the olden times, are kept. There, you can see statues of famous and unknown people from the Roman past, tombstones, inscriptions, sarcophagi, reliefs, altars… During the tour, in addition to the monuments, Don Frane tells various anecdotes that he experienced with individual monuments. Behind the lapidary, there is an entrance to the building itself, where occasional exhibitions are held.