The Co-Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary was built in 1169 as a Romanesque basilica of a single nave on the foundations of a pagan temple of the fourth and fifth centuries, whose remains are still visible at the back of the sanctuary at about 1.5 meters deep. The façade and the south side of the cathedral, in the middle of the eighteenth century was decorated with Romanesque arches and brick niches. In the same period the church was expanded with the addition of two side aisles, altars and other works of art. During World War II the cathedral was severely damaged. The current appearance of the building is the result of the restoration executed between 1949 and 1950.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.