Kaà ¡tela () is a town and a suburb of Split in Dalmatia, Croatia. The town is an agglomeration of seven individual settlements which are administered as a single municipality, with populations individually ranging from 3,000 to 7,000 residents. The town is located northwest of Split proper, west of Solin and east of Trogir, on the central Dalmatian coast. With a total population of 37,794 census, it is the 14th largest town in the country.
In the area of today's Kaà ¡tela, in the Early Iron Age â from the 9th to the 5th century BC. â the first Illyrian settlements (fortresses) were established in the area of Biranj, Luko and Ostroà ¾ine. Traces of life in the Kaà ¡tela area can be found as early as prehistoric times, as evidenced by the sources from , which is located in a mountainous area above on the way to Prgomet. Prehistoric man settled in this area and then he found enough fertile soil and drinking water here. From the 1st century BC they were under Roman Empire rule, when a large number of summer houses (villae rusticae) were built for the needs of Roman veterans; the remains of the Siculi settlement near Resnik have been preserved from that period. A large number of buildings date from the early Christian and early Croatian periods; the remains of churches and buildings of early Croatian rulers have been found at the sites of BijaÃÂi, Putalj, Kozice, Laà ¾ane, Ostrog and Sv. Petar od KlobuÃÂac.
The local population came into contact with the Greeks already present in Trogir, their culture and art. The area of the Resnik port bears witness to the trade between the Greeks, as numerous artifacts from the Hellenistic period have been found there.
In the Middle Ages, the area of Kaà ¡tela Field, as an integral part of the royal estate (territorium regale), was included in the communal estate of Split and Trogir by royal grants, and became the subject of numerous disputes between these two cities. From 1420, together with the rest of the Dalmatian coast, it was included in the territory of the Venetian Republic. From the end of the 14th century nobles from nearby towns built sixteen fortress-palaces to defend against the Ottomans; around seven of them, settlements formed, consisting of regularly arranged peasant houses within the walls. The castles had Renaissance architectural features, luxurious inner courtyards and rich interiors. Until 1797, the castles were part of the Venetian Republic, from 1797 to 1806 part of the Austrian part of the Habsburg Monarchy, from 1806 to 1813 part of the French Illyrian provinces, and from 1815 they were again part of the Habsburg Monarchy. When a new administrative division was introduced in 1822, small municipalities (so-called unions) were established in the area of the castles: Kaà ¡tel Lukà ¡iàand Kaà ¡tel Kambelovac (together with Kaà ¡tel SuÃÂurac and Kaà ¡tel Gomilica) which belonged to the Split district and the Kaà ¡tel Novi union (with Kaà ¡tel à  tafiliàand Kaà ¡tel Stari). In 1847, the Lukà ¡iàand Kambelovac unions merged.
The town of Kaà ¡tela is located in Dalmatia region, in (Kaà ¡tela bay), between the city of Trogir on the west and Solin on the east, or the island of ÃÂiovo and Marjan hill (780 m), underneath the Kozjak mountain. It stretches for approximately 20 km and it consists of following settlements (from Trogir to Solin):
Kaà ¡tela is an urbanized area with a rich agricultural environment (vines, fruits, vegetables, flowers), developed industry (cement, chemical industry) and tourism. Split Airport is located in the western part of Kaà ¡tela (in Kaà ¡tel à  tafiliÃÂ).
The Kaà ¡tela Riviera is a fertile area, about in length, featuring the first Roman floating docks and 50 places on the long, verdant area, northwest of Split. It is divided into Gornja (upper) and Donja Kaà ¡tela (lower), and it consists of seven old and two relatively new settlements. The Kaà ¡tela region with its Mediterranean tone, picturesque landscape and unique composition of natural environment attracted people since prehistoric times. From ancient Greek sailors, Roman patricians, Croatian kings, rulers, Venetian royals to the present sun and sea lovers, as well as mysterious legacies from the past.
Once an ancient Greek port, a stopover point for Roman veterans and a summer place for Croatian kings is today a tourist resort, carrying the same name. Along its long sandy beach there are terraces and viewpoints, tennis and other sports grounds, surrounded by greenery of pine and tamaris trees.
The Jadro River (the original water supply for the ancient city of Diocletian's Palace) flows through the town of Solin and provides water supply to both Split and Kaà ¡tela. Contemporary studies indicate favourable water quality levels of the river near the headwaters at Jadro Spring. Certain other studies of hydrology and sedimentation have been conducted in this area.
Since records began in 1981, the highest temperature recorded at the local weather station was , on 2 August 2017. The coldest temperature was , on 7 January 2017.
The industrial zone is developed, and there is an aluminium extraction facility in the vicinity of Kaà ¡tel SuÃÂurac and the Split Airport is located in Kaà ¡tel à  tafiliÃÂ. Present area of Kaà ¡tela and its inland in the vicinity of ancient Salona were inhabited very early (the finds from the Roman and Old Croatian period).
Folklore society KUD 7 Kaà ¡tela was formed in 1980. Society organizes annual "Tamburica & Mandolina" folklore summer event, with folklore societies from Slavonija and Dalmatia.
Kaà ¡tela is twinned with: