"City is Older Than Dirt" Top 5 Page for this destination Pula by BruceDunning

Pula Travel Guide: 528 reviews and 1,230 photos

Picturesque View of the main Forum - Pula

A Long Living Culture

This city has had some sort of communal living dating back to 1800 to 1000 BC. The Romans took control in 177BC, and with that the growth into a Roman state was created. By 45 BC, Julius Caesar made this an administrative center and it had commerce of ship building, fishing, among some trades. Only 3 years after this date, the war over turf between Caesar, Mark Anthony and Octavian led the town to be demolished by Octavian. Once that was settled, and town rebuilt and the arena was a main feature being constructed starting in 27BC.
After decline of Rome, the Goths got control of the region and destroyed this town again in 476AD.
After other "intrusions" the Venetians got the control in 1148, after a rule by the Franks for 350 years. During Venetian reign, the town got destroyed again in 1243, 1267, 1397. Talk about being on the wrong side, or in the middle of wars. The Austrians took over in 1797 and they continued until WWI. Then they eventually became part of Yugoslavia consortium empire

Arena is the anchor of Pride

Arena birds view

The arena was first starting construction in 27BC and the build out lasted until 81AD before it got completed in structure of today. This is the 6th largest arena in the European comparisons, and probably the best, if not one of the best preserved. At one time the arena held 23,000 people. Stones were taken over the years to build other monuments in the city.

Pula is the Main City of Istria

Layout of the city and the bay

Location of the city at the tip of Istria provides a good center point of commerce, industry,and today tourism. The city has about 70,000 residents today, and about half would be origin of Croats. With the WWII ending, a fair number of Italians left (somewhat forcibly) the peninsula as well as Croatia overall. Now under 5% are Italian heritage, but a lot of people speak Hrvatski/Croatian language and Italiano.

Pros and Cons

Pros:A lot of Nice places to see and the walk is circular
Cons:Would have too many people here in summer and packed
In a nutshell:Pleasant place to walk the main ulicas and sit a spell

Last visit to Pula: May 2010
Intro Updated Jun 6, 2010
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Reviews (30)

Motovun Off The Beaten Path (7)

This Medieval town is 886 feet high on the hilltop, and has houses stringing along the road up to the old main gate... more travel advice

Beram and Its Beautifu Frescoes Off The Beaten Path (7)

This hilltop village has only 250 people. Formation of a settlement dates back to early BC based on archaeological... more travel advice

Rounded defense of the castle/fortress - Pula

Pazan Off The Beaten Path (7)

This town had control of much territory in the region back in Medieval ages to about 1600. Feudal lords reigned the... more travel advice

Fazana-A fishing village-now tourism... Off The Beaten Path (7)

This is a coastal town and a drop off point to get to Brijuni Island, not far off the coast. The settlement dates back... more travel advice

Comments (7)

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mtncorg Nov 22, 2010 at 6:39 PM

Especially liked your out of the way sites. Look forward to seeing the old homeport of the KuK Navy one of these days!
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Bwana_Brown Nov 11, 2010 at 6:07 PM

Bruce, that Roman arena is amazing and the elevated Castle is a close second! Great tips on the outlying areas - your aerial view of Topt looks like you were in a chopper! Sue & I always enjoy historic spots, so thanks for these great tips on your visit.
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Maurizioago Oct 20, 2010 at 1:45 AM

...Piazza Bettica; not Palazzo. See; Vodnjan tip. Very informative page. Ciao!
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HORSCHECK Oct 17, 2010 at 4:46 AM

Bruce, fabulous page with brilliant photos. I visited Pula about 25 years ago when it still belonged to Yugoslavia. Well done.
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MikeBird Oct 12, 2010 at 2:03 PM

Hi Bruce, Good to read your Pula tips - had to smile about your comment on the Augustus Temple. You saw much more of Pula than we did but our kids were beginning to revolt so we stopped sightseeing. Cheers, Mike
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Ekaterinburg Jun 26, 2010 at 4:00 PM

Very informative, especially the account of the neighbouring towns and villages. You saw a lot more of Pula than I did and I enjoyed reading about the places I'd missed. I did go to Pazin though and loved it.
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nicolaitan Jun 10, 2010 at 5:43 AM

most interesting, a city in which i have some interest. pity so many of the churches and attractions were closed. red wings looks like my kind of place. n.