A handsome old town lying half an hour’s drive inland from Split, Sinj is home to a famously alluring, miracle-working icon of the Virgin that hangs to the left of the main altar in the main parish church. There’s also an old fortress that’s well worth visiting on the hill above. On the first Sunday of every August crowds from all over Dalmatia descend on Sinj to witness the Alka, an age-old tournament in which horsemen gallop downhill with lances in their hands, hoping to spear a ring that hangs above the end of the course. The riders wear traditional costume, and the whole occasion is one of festive pageant.