OMIS,
a small town and port at the mouth of
the Cetina river in the littoral of
Poljica, 26 km southeast of Split; population
6,640. Economy is based on farming,
fishing, textile and food-processing
industries and tourism. Extensive sand
beaches stretch from Dugi Rat in the
west to Ravnice in the east. A 700-m
wide shallow stretches off the low sand
coast west of Omis, created by the drifts
of the Cetina; it has a changing depth
(up to 2 m). In the eastern part of
the Poljica littoral, between Ravnice
and Vrulja, are several coves (Mala
Luka, Velika Luka, Lucica and Vojskovo)
with sand-pebble beaches. Omis lies
at the intersection of the main road
(M2, E65) and the regional road, connecting
Omis with the hinterland in the Cetina
valley (via Zadvarje). North of Omis,
in the village of Zakucac, is the hydro-electric
power plant "Split".
HERITAGE
Populated
as early as Roman times (One-um), Omis
was a fortified town in the Middle Ages.
In the 12th and the 13th centuries the
town was under the rule of the counts
Kacic, and in the 14th century under
the Bribir counts of Subic. It had many
rulers and masters in its past; in 1444
it came under the power of Venice. The
remains of mediaeval fortifications
include the southern town gate with
a part of the walls, the south-western
quadrangular tower on (Fosal), the fortification
on the cliff above the town and the
grandiose ruins of the fortress Starigrad
(Fortica) on the hill above Omis (311
m).
The
main street leads from the southern
gate toward the Cetina, along with the
"Fosal". On the square is
the parish church from the 17th century
with a nice portal (1621) and a bell
tower; it features two paintings by
the painter Matteo Ingoli from Ravenna
and a Gothic wooden cross from the 15th
century.
One
of the Renaissance-style houses close
to the church houses the local museum
collection (archaeological, cultural,
historical and ethnographic exhibits
from the region of Omis and the nearby
Poljica). At the end of the main street
is a small church of the Holy Spirit
from the 16th century; the Renaissance
wooden altar features the painting Descent
of the Holy Spirit by the Venetian painter
J. Palma the Younger.
Next
to the church is a clock tower. Below
it is the stairway to the upper part
of the town. Along the river is the
house of the Radman family with a collection
of stone fragments (ancient times, Gothic,
Renaissance) and cultural and historical
artefacts (18th-19th c.).
On
the right bank of the Cetina is the
locality of Priko with a small pre-Romanesque
church of St. Peter (10th c.), mentioned
in the deeds of national rulers from
the 10th and the 11th centuries.
-
The Franciscan monastery, built in the
18th century, has a collection of works
of art, the archives containing Turkish
documents and a library.
