"Poreč/Parenzo, a cross road in... " a Porec Travel Page by JLBG

Prehistoric remains have been uncovered in and around Poreč, which shows that the spot has been inhabited for a very long time.

Two centuries AD, a Roman castrum was built on the peninsula. During the reign of the emperor Octavian, in the first century, it became a colony, Colonia Julia Parentium.

In the 3rd century it had an organized Christian community with early Christian complex of sacral buildings. The Basilica was built in 5th century. When the Roman Empire of Occident fell, the city was invaded by the Ostrogoth.

After 539, it was under the control of Byzance and in 788 of the Francs.

At the end of 6th century, Croats arrived. In the 12th, the city earned it's autonomy.

It has been under the power of the patriarch of Aquilea since 1232, and of the patriarch of Venice since 1267.

In 1354, it was plundered by the Genoese.

At the end on the 16th and beginning of the 17th, the plague devastated Poreč and it's population was dramatically reduced.

During the second half of the 17th, immigrants from Southern Dalmatia and a few Greek and Albanese groups settled in and around Poreč.

After the fall of Venice, it was administered for a while by Napoleon Bonaparte.

It became part of Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1797.

Since 1861, it has been the capital and the seat of the National Assembly of Istria.

From 1918 through 1943, it was ruled by Italy.

During WW2, the town was bombed and heavily damaged. It was freed from the German army by the Yugoslav army on April 30th 1945.

The history of Poreč/Parenzo allows to name it a cross road in Europe and an absolute must see !

The city plan still shows the ancient Roman Castrum structure. The main streets are Decumanus and Cardo Maximus still preserved in original ancient forms. Trg Marafor is the Roman forum with two temples, one dedicated to Neptune, erected in the first century AD

The complex of the Euphrasian Basilica, was built in the 5th century and extended to it's present state in the 6th century under the Byzantine Empire and bishop Euphrasius. It is has been inscribed by UNESCO in 1997 on the world heritage list. It contains the famous fish mosaic.

I quote from the Unesco report for inscription on the World Heritage list : "The Poreč episcopal complex is an outstanding and almost completely intact early Christian cathedral complex with a unique basilican church and a representative and stylistically important episcopal palace. It is, furthermore, a structural ensemble which, when taken with the archaeological remains of several earlier building phases, forms part of a greater unit, namely, the historic town of Poreč. As such it provides the unifying factor for cultural, urban, and architectural history beyond the cathedral complex alone and into the late classical and early medieval town in which it was established. The nomination dossier rightly draws attention to comparable ecclesiastical complexes in Ravenna and Aquileia. However, its exceptional quality when compared with these important sites lies in the fact of the completeness and compactness of the group and in the intimate relationship that it has with its historic town."

In 1844, in the first existing guide book, Poreč was already described as a main destination. For decades, Austro-Hungarian aristocracy made Poreč their sea-side resort.

Poreč, with a permanent population under 10,000, is now the Croatian tourist capital and in Summer, it's population sky-rockets well over 100,000 coming mostly from the whole Europe but with also visitors from the other continents. Then, in Summer, you have better visit early in the morning. That is what I did ! Moreover, the light is better for good pictures !