City of Split is a famous historical city and the second largest city of Croatia, the prefecture of Split-Dalmatia County, largest seaport in Dalmatia, and a health resort and tourist attraction. Located on the east coast of the Adriatic Sea, it consists of a central peninsula and the surrounding coasts. Split is the transportation hub on the east coast of the Adriatic Sea, with direct routes to islands in the Adriatic Sea and to Apennine Peninsula. It is one of the famous tourist destinations in southeast Europe. As one of the oldest cities in the region, Split is generally considered to have a history of more than 1,700 years. However, according to the archaeological research on Aspálathos, a Greek colony in the 6th century BC, the city was built another hundreds of years earlier than that. Split possesses a number of palaces and monuments dating back to the Roman empire, with the Roman Emperor Diocletian's Summer Palace as the core of the city's architectural development. The Salona City nearby, the ancient capital of Dalmatian Dynasty in Roman, still maintains some valuable historical sites today. Industries in Split include metallurgy, shipbuilding, cement, chemistry, textiles, food processing, etc. The city has also built institutes of Marine biology, universities, museums and art galleries. Since 1998, the annual Croatian shipping Exhibition has been held in Split.