Exactly at noon, at the moment when at the top of the bell tower of St. Dujma Ivica Matković placed the Croatian tricolor, two seagulls surrounded him. They came within half a meter of him and danced with him on the wave of the wind. On the hole-filled Peristyle, all eyes were fixed on the climber from Split; every step he took towards the top was immediately followed.
At the moment when he unfurled the flag, many citizens clapped, camera flashes flashed, and shouts of “Spiderman!” were heard from the crowd.
For many tourists who flooded the Imperial Square on Saturday afternoon, it was a first-class climbing attraction. For the people of Split, on the other hand, it was the announcement of the climax of Sudamje – the celebration of the City Day and the feast of St. Dujm.
Matković has so far climbed the campanile about forty times on various occasions. On the occasion of Sudamje, this was his 35th ascent, but he will remember this occasion especially. Namely, Ivica recently became a grandfather to little Toni, so he dedicated this jubilee climb to him.
When he returned to the ground, Matković thanked St. Dujmo for once again enabling him to reach the top of his palace, and with a smile he said to those gathered:
“The most beautiful view of the suite is from the top of St. Duja!”
