Pula, St Vincent and Opatija
The magnificent Apmphithieatre
The area where Pula is today has been populated in prehistoric times.
But during the 45-46 year BC, Pula became a colony of the Roman Empire. Its first name was Pietas Julia. The town had been founded by Cassius Longinus, brother of Senator Cassius. So, during the Roman Civil War of 42 BC between the triumvirate of the Senate leaders Octavian, Mark Antony and Lepidus fought against Caesar’s assassins – Brutus and Cassius, the town took the side of Cassius. After Octavian‘s victory, the town was demolished. It was then rebuilt at the request of Octavian’s daughter Iulia and was called Colonia Pietas Iulia Pola Pollentia Herculanea.
Inside the Amphitheatre
Pula is most famous with its Roman remains, the crowning glory of which is the well-preserved Amphitheatre, dating from the 1 century AD. The smaller previous amphitheatre, build by Emperor Claudius, was then enlarged to produce the current one – which became one of the six largest amphitheatres, existing today.
The seating area is now preserved and repaired only partially – sufficiently for its use in the present day (it seats 5,000). But in Roman times, with its 20 entrances and seating for 23,000 people, it had many uses, including gladiators’ fights. It remained almost in one piece by the 15th century, when it began to disintegrate and parts of it were taken to be used for other buildings.
The Twin Gate
The magnificent mosaic – this is just one of the many squares
We walked round the sea area in the heat of the day, then swerved towards the shades of the centre. The city is full of lovely coffee-shops, under shady trees. Despite the fact that the old part of town was full of tourists, you still felt that this was a large city with numerous population.
The Pula town Hall
The narrow streets of the old part of Pula
At the top of the hill of the old quarter
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The St. Vincent Castle from the outside
The inside of the castle
The St. Vincent castle
Going to St Vincent was an afterthought. We were passing by and Chris suggested we went to visit – there was a good castle there, he said. Indeed, we parked the car and the castle was right bang in the centre of the little village. The first thing, which struck me was that there was nobody about – no tourists, no locals, nobody – it looked as a ghost-settlement. The only exception was a board cafe-owner lady, who was smoking a cigarette in front of her establishment.
We looked at the castle and it looked closed. Chris went to see what were the opening hours on a notice on the door and pressed the hadle. To our amazement, it appeared that it was not locked – we went in. The castle was large, existing from the 13th century, with many towers, steps and rooms preserved.
Another church in the centre
The well and the Church of St Vincent
The centre of the village was very Italian it its outlook, centred around a well and the church of St. Vincent. We walked around the village and saw signs of life, many houses were lived in, but still nobody was walking about. It was a sleepy, quiet, but very chaming place, which will be remembered .
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Driving round the Adriatic in the Plomin area
On the next day we left our villa and started on our trip to the next destination, where we were going to spend the night – Slavonski Brod. We decided to take the road, following the Adriatic coast and stop to see Opatija on the way.
In rainy Opatija
The Adriatic
The road offered magnificent views of the coastline – the sea was smooth and reflected the few clouds above. The hills on the side were green –everywhere you looked, the land was covered with trees. We stopped several times to enjoy the views but by the time we reached Opatija, the weather had changed and it rained.
The town of Opatija apparently originated around a 14th centuryBenedictine Monastery. It is situated on a steep hill, coming down to the sea. It had a fortress, which in the 15th century was used to defend the Venetian border of Istria.
Opatija seaside
The fate of the town was decided when a local nobleman decided to build a villa here – Villa Angiolina, surrounded by a large park. The villa later became a hotel. The Austrian empress Maria Ana came to stay in it, quickly followed by many of the nobility of the country. More hotels were built and the town became a fashionable holiday destination, especially after the railway line was built to reach it. Other Emperors visited, but by the 20th century, the resort mainly attracted the elderly visitor.
Opatija seaside
Armed with umbrellas, we parked the car and walked through the main street of the town – by the sea. Pooled shallow areas of the sea, accompanied by wooden grates, restaurant seats and pavilions ran all the way up the coast. We found the narrow park and walked around it, then decided to have lunch by the sea. The squid we had – freshly caught – was out of this world!
We discovered there was not much to see and decided to continue on our way to Salvonski Brod.