The former collegiate church of the Benedictine order, today the Catholic parish church, received the relics of Saint Chrysanthus and Daria in 844. Building was begun in the mid-11th century and completed in the 12th century. It is a romanesque, three-nave buttressed basilica without a transept, with west work and long chancel, as well as an important crypt. Restoration work has been carried out from 1876 to 1893 and since 1957. The interior of the church is well worth seeing.
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.