Pula Things to Do

It should be unsurprising to any visitor to the Town Hall, which is located right beside the Temple of Augustus, that the building was originally a Temple of Diana built by the Romans. Undoubtedly there was much more left to the Forum and other Roman sites during the Middle Ages, so the people of Pula decided to upgrade the Temple in the thirteenth century and make it into their Gradska vijecnica or Town Hall. The building was once again renovated in the Renaissance. You can see from the orange snow fencing (or so we call it in Canada) the extent of the construction on the Forum in June 2006. Hopefully the city authorities have finished and the entire area is much more enjoyable than it was.

The Temple of Augustus is a splendidly preserved Roman ruin that is located right beside the Town Hall. It was built between 2 BC and 14 AD and is most remarkable for its large Corinthian columns, which are still intact, on the side that faces the Forum. It was constructed to celebrate the cult of th Emperor and was once part of a much larger collection of Roman buildings, including the Town Hall next door. Inside the Temple is a collection of Roman ruins from around Pula, with some of the sculptures that were found at the amfitheatre.

Like all Roman towns of some importance, Pula has a Forum in the centre of town near the shores of the Adriatic, although when I was there in June 2006, it was a mess of construction. The Forum today is more remarkable for what surrounds it than anything that occurs there. It is where the Temple of Augustus and the Town Hall are located, in addition to some of Pula's more famous cafés.

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The Amfitheatre is not only the largest Roman ruin in Pula, but it is also likely the first one you will see if you come into the city by train or by bus. It is the sixth largest amfitheatre in the world and was constructed in the first century BC. The amfitheatre itself is spectacular, although going inside is probably only for those who are history or architecture buffs. The inside, which is still intact, was quarried to provide the limestone used in locals' housing. In the 16th century the Venetians wanted to move what remained of the structure to Venice, but, luckily, they were dissuaded by the local politicans. The real mystery is why such a large structure was built in such a small Roman town (22 000 seats for a town of 5000). It does, nonetheless, present the perfect backdrop for plenty of pictures.

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The arena was started around 30 BC during the reign of Emporer Augustus. It was completed in the 1st century and is the 6th largest Roman amphitheatre in the world.

It is built from Istrian limestone and measures 130m across and 100m wide. It int's time it would have held 20,000 spectators for gladitorial contests. Today it still hosts major concerts.

A complete, intact amphitheatre (cost 20kn per person). It even has the rooms below that the gladiators & lions used to be kept in before being sent into the arena - ther's a museum in there with lots of pottery found (again mainly intact).
Worth a visit.

for history and archeology buffs its exciting to follow the romans around europe - that they were even way down into croatia impressed us -

the ampitheatre in Pula is a good size too -

didnt cost much and we enjoyed the roam around inside.

This picture shows the Northern wall of Sveta Marija Katedrala, opposite to the main entrance. The little street leads to Obala Maršala Tita and the sea, 50 meters away. Pay attention to the small round window, in the center of the picture, with two crosses in the middle of a circle, entirely carved in stone.

Opposite the amphitheatre there is a harbour - with a multitude of trips.

Be sure to have a wander to check out all the prices before you commit because the tours differ in as much as whether lunch is included, additional stops etc...

There is a tour agency (same side of the road as the amphitheatre) which highly (obviously) recommended tours should be booked through them because they are registered etc... The agency has strange opening hours and when they are open they look closed!