Villa Vilma

Colonia Pietas Iulia Pola, name given to Pula by the old Romans, has been writing its history for 3000 years. The city built at the end of a beautiful bay and on seven hills reveals many lovely and interesting stories. 

Today the city lives in many colours and sounds, perfectly interlacing the variegated exciting past with modern times of its inhabitants and visitors. It boasts perfectly preserved amphitheatre, the largest amphora site in the world, Temple of Augustus, many churches, monasteries, Venetian and Austro-Hungarian architecture, excellent various food specialities and wine in its many restaurants, rich museums, galleries, concert events, great nightlife and many other beauties located in this famous city.

Amphitheatre – monument, which was once the site of gladiator fights. It was built in the 1st century AD. The ground plan is elliptical, the longer axis measuring about 130 m and the shorter one about 100 m. It is believed that the Amphitheatre could seat about 20,000 spectators.

Temple of Augustus - The Temple, situated in the Forum, is dedicated to goddess Roma and Emperor Augustus. It was constructed between the year 2 BC and AD 14. Nowadays, it houses a collection of ancient stone and bronze sculptures.

Triumphal Arch of the Sergi - Golden Gate - The “Golden Gate” was erected between the years 29 and 27 BC by the Sergi family to honour of three members of the family who held important positions in Pula at that time.

Gate of Hercules - It stands between two, most probably medieval, towers, simply constructed out of stone blocks that are not carved. At the top of the damaged arch, although hardly recognizable, there is a carving of the head of Hercules and his truncheon.

Twin Gates and City Walls - In ancient and medieval times, the whole city was surrounded by walls and could be entered through about ten gates. The walls had become old and unnecessary so they were pulled down at the beginning of the 19th century. The Twin Gates, thus called because of the two arches through which you enter the inner yard, once the entrance to the city, were constructed between the 2nd and 3rd century.

Forum - The coast where the Forum was constructed in the 1st century BC had to be filled up to gain a larger area. On the northern part of the Forum stood two twin temples and a central one dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. Today only the Temple of Augustus has been fully preserved while of the second temple, only the back wall, built into the Communal Palace in the 13th century, is visible.

Small Roman Theatre -On the north-eastern slopes of the central hill of the city, below the Castle, there are the remains of a Roman theatre: in addition to the Amphitheatre, Pula had two other theatres during the Roman period. The larger one, which has not been preserved, was situated outside the city, on the slopes of Zaro hill (Monte Zaro), south of the city walls. The other theatre known as the Small Roman Theatre was situated within the city walls. The remains of the stage, semicircular orchestra and the audience section have all been partly reconstructed.

Chapel of St. Maria Formosa - It is one of the two chapels built in the 6th century as part of a large Benedictine abbey demolished in the 16th century. The floor and walls were decorated with mosaics, some of which are now in the Archaeological Museum of Istria.

Church and Monastery of St. Francis - The church was built in 1314 in the late Romanesque style with Gothic ornaments, as a firm and simple building of the preaching Franciscan order.

Castle - From the upper circular street, one of the perpendicular paths leads to the top of the central hill of the city where a star-shaped castle with four bastions was built in 1630. This was, most probably, the site of an earlier fortress dating from the pre-Roman and Roman period. The Histrian hill-fort was primarily built for defensive purposes, whereas in the Roman period, a small military garrison was stationed there. Today, the Castle houses the Historical Museum of Istria.