In the 16th century, the city of Split received its first mechanical clock. It was installed on an old Romanesque house from the 13th century located on the north side of the Iron Gate of Diocletian’s Palace

The main clock located on the square was repaired and changed several times.

In the original, a circular stone wreath was engraved with the numbering from I-XXIV. It was noon at the top and midnight at the bottom of the clock face.

In April 1888, the clock on Gospodski trg (today People Square or Narodni trg, Pjaca) was replaced by a new one of a better quality, and the old clock was moved to the bell tower of the church of St. Francis. After the war in 1944, only two clocks remained preserved, the clock on the People Square and the one on the bell tower of the church of St. Francis.

In 1958, during the works on the clock on the main square, the remains of an old Renaissance clock were discovered. After the research, they made the reconstruction project of the western façade of the Diocletian’s palace. It was decided that the renaissance frame of the clock would be restored. Following the example of the old Renaissance clock, the numbering remained from I-XXIV, but unlike the old clocks that had only one hand, the new clock was adapted to today’s reading and one more needle was added.