Marmont street leads to the sea and was the western boundary of the Venetian town. Wide and adorned with elegant residences, the street is named after the general who decided the town was safe enough to destroy the Venetian walls. Once removed, parks and esplanades such as this sprung up and opened Split to its glimmering seascape.This vision was that of Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont, Napoleon's aide-de-camp and most stalwart supporter/traitor. Dubrovnik invited the French to help defend their city against the Russian fleet -- but they stayed and Marmont became Duke of Ragusa. Viewed with disdain by the French, Marmont is well remembered in Dalmatia for being a good governor and for creating public works such as this street. (You may recall that about this time, Paris was tearing down its city walls and creating those lovely boulevards. "Boulevard," of course, is the French word for bastion.) With its lack of cars and sea views, Rue Marmont is easily as pleasant as most Parisian streets.
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