The amphitheater in Pula is the most famous symbol of the city located on the south of the Istrian peninsula and a reminder of Roman past!
It is the sixth biggest amphitheater in the world and the most visited stage in the city because of the many cultural and entertainment events that take place there,mostly in the summer when the city is bustling with people. Other important monuments include the Arch of the Sergi, the Gate of Hercules and the Double Gate, Small Roman Theatre, the Temple of Augustus…in the underground spaces of the amphiteather, that once were used by the gladiators, there is the permanent exhibition of olive-growing and viticulture of Roman Istria. The amphitheater is located outside the city walls of Roman Pula and Via Flavia, which is a road built at the time of emperor Vespasian, will take you directly into the city. It remains one of the major roads to this day. Once upon a time the main port of Habsburg Monarchy, Pula has been guarded by 26 magnificent forts and fortifications for more than a century. They were all bulit in strategic locations, mostly lookouts, on which you can enjoy a fascinating view. A less known fact is that in Pula there is the world famous excavation site of amphoras – one of a kind large oval vases in which olive oil used to be stored and preserved, much like wine or salted fish. Amphoras are still close to the amphitheater, at the samelocation that, today, looks like a construction site. It will take you a couple of hours to visit all of the places mentioned so that enough time will be left to enjoy yourselves and just relax. For those of you who are a bit more persistent there is more than 100 kilometers of marked pedestrian routes outside Pula. Around thirty kilometers of these routes strech across the famous Kaiserwald forest, that is pleasant to stroll through, both in winter and summer. Most of the hotels are situated on Verudela, a peninsula covered in pine forest and surrounded by the clear blue Adriatic Sea.
