Pula

Near the southern tip of Istria, Pula looks out over a sheltered harbor on the Adriatic. Its most imposing monument is the Roman amphitheater, built in the first century for spectacles of combat. The ancient walls, temples and gates remained prominent long after Roman rule, attracting the attention of architects and scholars. In 1331 Pula accepted Venetian protection and came under the authority of the maritime republic.

The centuries that followed brought war and repeated epidemics, and Pula's population dwindled. In 1630 Venice commissioned the French engineer Antoine de Ville to build a fortress on the central hill, strengthening control of the harbor. The amphitheater itself had a narrow escape: in 1583 the Venetian senator Gabriele Emo opposed a proposal to dismantle it, and the townspeople commemorated his intervention with an inscription. Venice ruled Pula until the republic fell in 1797.