The church of Saints Julián and Basilisa was originally built in the late twelfth century. Two inscriptions are provided, one, on the west window of the portico, dates the work to 1186 and names the sculptor Juan de Piasca, and the other on the baptismal font, states its creation date of 1195. In the sixteenth century, however, the building was heavily reconstructed, leaving only the portico generally intact, albeit walled in. It remained enclosed until the building's modern restoration in 1928. The portico is heavily decorated, including a row of figural and vegetal capitals sculpted in the round, a carved alfiz, and numerous corbels.
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.