{"id":1083,"date":"2018-03-28T18:55:30","date_gmt":"2018-03-29T01:55:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lenkatraveler.com\/blog\/?p=1083"},"modified":"2018-03-28T19:03:10","modified_gmt":"2018-03-29T02:03:10","slug":"things-to-do-in-istria-croatia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenkatraveler.com\/?p=1083","title":{"rendered":"Things to do in Istria, Croatia"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_1084\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1084\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/lenkatraveler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Pula.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1084\" src=\"http:\/\/lenkatraveler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Pula.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lenkatraveler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Pula.jpg 800w, https:\/\/lenkatraveler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Pula-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lenkatraveler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Pula-768x509.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1084\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pula, Istria, Croatia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Pula<\/strong> is a city with a cultural mixture of people and languages from the\u00a0Mediterranean\u00a0and Central Europe,\u00a0ancient and contemporary. Pula\/Pola&#8217;s architecture reflects these layers of history. Residents are commonly fluent in both Croatian and Italian language but\u00a0also to\u00a0foreign languages\u00a0like German and English. From 30 October 1904 to March 1905 Irish writer\u00a0James Joyce\u00a0taught English at the Berlitz School; his\u00a0students were mainly\u00a0Austro-Hungarian naval officers\u00a0who were stationed at the\u00a0Naval Shipyard. While he was in Pola he organized the local printing of his\u00a0broadsheet\u00a0The Holy Office,\u00a0which satirized both\u00a0William Butler Yeats\u00a0and\u00a0George William Russell.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Arena &#8211; 1st-century\u00a0amphitheater, which is among the six\u00a0largest surviving Roman arenas in the world. This is one of the best preserved amphitheaters from antiquity and is still in\u00a0use today during summer film festivals. During the World War II Italian fascist administration, there were attempts to dismantle the arena and move it to\u00a0mainland Italy, which were quickly abandoned due to the costs involved.<\/li>\n<li>The 1st-century AD\u00a0triumphal arch, the\u00a0Arch of the Sergii.<\/li>\n<li>Temple of\u00a0Rome and Augustus, built in the 1st century AD built on the\u00a0forum\u00a0during the reign of the\u00a0Roman emperor\u00a0Augustus.<\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0Twin Gates\u00a0(Porta Gemina) is one of the few remaining gates after the\u00a0city walls\u00a0were pulled down at the beginning of the 19th century. It dates from the\u00a0mid-2nd century, replacing an earlier gate. It consists of two arches, columns, a plain\u00a0architrave\u00a0and a decorated\u00a0frieze. Close by are a few remains of the\u00a0old city wall.<\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0Gate of Hercules\u00a0dates from the 1st century. At the top of the single arch one can see the bearded head of\u00a0Hercules, carved in\u00a0high-relief, and his club\u00a0on the adjoining\u00a0voussoir. A damaged inscription, close to the club, contains the names of\u00a0Lucius Calpurnius Piso[disambiguation needed]\u00a0and Gaius Cassius\u00a0Longinus who were entrusted by the\u00a0Roman senate\u00a0to found a colony at the site of Pula. Thus it can be deduced that Pula was founded between 47 and 44\u00a0BC.<\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0Augustan Forum\u00a0was constructed in the 1st century BC, close to the sea. In Roman times it was surrounded by temples of\u00a0Jupiter,\u00a0Juno\u00a0and\u00a0Minerva.\u00a0This Roman commercial and administrative centre of the city remained the main square of classical and medieval Pula \u2013 Pola. It still is the main\u00a0administrative and legislative centre of the city. The temple of Roma and Augustus is still preserved today. A part of the back wall of the temple of Juno was\u00a0integrated into the\u00a0Communal Palace\u00a0in the 13th century.<\/li>\n<li>Two\u00a0Roman theaters\u00a0have withstood the ravages of time: the smaller one (diameter c. 50 m; 2nd century AD) near the centre, the larger one (diameter c.\u00a0100 m; 1st century AD) on the southern edge of the city.<\/li>\n<li>The city&#8217;s old quarter of narrow streets, lined with\u00a0Medieval\u00a0and\u00a0Renaissance\u00a0buildings, are still surfaced with ancient Roman paving stones.<\/li>\n<li>The Byzantine\u00a0chapel of St. Mary Formosa\u00a0was built in the 6th century (before 546) in the form of a Greek cross, resembling the churches in\u00a0Ravenna. It\u00a0was built by deacon Maximilian, who became later Archbishop of Ravenna. It was, together with another chapel, part of a\u00a0Benedictine abbey\u00a0that was\u00a0demolished in the 16th century. The floors and the walls are decorated with 6th-century mosaics. The decoration bears some resemblance to the\u00a0Mausoleum of Galla Placidia\u00a0at\u00a0Ravenna. The wall over the door contains a Byzantine carved stone panel. The 15th-century wall paintings may be\u00a0restorations of Early Christian paintings. When the Venetians raided Pula in 1605, they removed many treasures from this chapel to Venice, including the\u00a0four columns of oriental alabaster that stand behind the high altar of\u00a0St Mark&#8217;s Basilica.<\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0Church of St. Francis\u00a0dates from the end of the 13th century. It was built in 1314 in late\u00a0Romanesque\u00a0style with Gothic additions such as the\u00a0rose\u00a0window. The church consists of a single\u00a0nave\u00a0with three\u00a0apses. An unusual feature of this church is the double\u00a0pulpit, with one part projecting into the street.\u00a0A 15th-century wooden\u00a0polyptych\u00a0from an\u00a0Emilian\u00a0artist adorns the altar. The west portal is decorated with shell motifs and a\u00a0rose window. The adjoining\u00a0monastery dates from the 14th century. The cloisters display some antique Roman artifacts.<\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary\u00a0was built in the 6th century, when Pula \u2013 Pola became the seat of a bishopry, over the remains\u00a0over the original site where the Christians used to gather and pray in Roman times. It was enlarged in the 10th century. After its destruction by Genoese and\u00a0Venetian raids, it was almost completely rebuilt in the 15th century. It got its present form when a late Renaissance fa\u00e7ade was added in the early 16th\u00a0century. The church still retains several Romanesque and Byzantine characters, such as some parts of the walls (dating from the 4th century), a few of the\u00a0original column\u00a0capitals\u00a0and the upper windows of the nave. In the altar area and in the room to the south one can still see fragments of 5th- or 6th-century\u00a0floor mosaics with memorial inscriptions from worshippers who paid for the mosaics. The windows of the aisles underwent reconstruction in\u00a0Gothic style\u00a0after\u00a0a fire in 1242. The belfry in front the church was built between 1671 and 1707 with stones form the amphitheatre. There also used to stand a baptistery from\u00a0the 5th century in front of the church, but it was demolished in 1885.<\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas\u00a0with its Ravenna-style polygonal apse, originally dates from the 6th century, but was partially rebuilt in the 10th century.\u00a0In 1583 it was assigned to the Orthodox community of Pula \u2013 Pola, mainly immigrants from\u00a0Cyprus\u00a0and\u00a0Nauplion. The church owns several icons from the\u00a015th and the 16th century and an\u00a0iconostasis\u00a0from the Greek artists\u00a0Tomios Batos\u00a0from the 18th century. The star-shaped\u00a0castle\u00a0with four\u00a0bastions\u00a0is\u00a0situated on top of the central hill of the old city. It was built, over the remains of the Roman\u00a0capitolium, by the Venetians in the 17th century, following the\u00a0plans of the\u00a0French military\u00a0architect\u00a0Antoine de Ville. Since 1961 it now houses the\u00a0Historical Museum of Istria. Close by, on the north-eastern slopes, one\u00a0can see the remains of a 2nd-century theatre.<\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0Archaeological Museum of Istria\u00a0is situated in the park on a lower level than the\u00a0Roman theatre\u00a0and close to the Twin Gates. Its collection was started\u00a0by Marshall\u00a0Marmont\u00a0in August 1802 when he collected the stone monuments from the temple of Roma and Augustus. The present-day museum was\u00a0opened in 1949. It displays treasures from Pula\/Pola and surroundings from prehistory until the\u00a0Middle Ages. The building was constructed under Austro-Hungarian rule and was the former k.u.k. &#8216;Staatsgymnasium&#8217;, the Austrian high school.<\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0Aquarium Pula\u00a0is the biggest aquarium in Croatia, located in the Austro-Hungarian fortress Verudela, which was built in 1886 on the peninsula 3 km (2\u00a0mi) from the centre of the city of Pula\/Pola. Transforming the fortress into the aquarium has been in progress since 2002. The installation encompasses\u00a0about 60 tanks on the ground floor, the moat, and the first floor of the fortress. In an area of approximately 2,000 square meters (21,528 square feet), visitors\u00a0can view inhabitants of the Northern and Southern Adriatic Sea, tropical marine and freshwater fish and with representatives of European rivers and lakes.\u00a0From the roof of the fort, visitors may view the entire city of Pula. It is also possible to see the first marine turtle rescue centre in Croatia.<\/li>\n<li>Fort Bourguignon\u00a0is one of many fortresses in Pula \u2013 Pola that the Austrian empire erected to protect the port for its navy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Photo Album &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/iyasno\/sets\/72157666148030074\">https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/iyasno\/sets\/72157666148030074<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Restaurant Farabuto (our review) &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tripadvisor.com\/Restaurant_Review-g295373-d2038288-Reviews-Farabuto-Pula_Istria.html\">https:\/\/www.tripadvisor.com\/Restaurant_Review-g295373-d2038288-Reviews-Farabuto-Pula_Istria.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Restaurant Orca a bit outside Rovinj (our review) &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tripadvisor.com\/Restaurant_Review-g303833-d1822764-Reviews-Restaurant_Orca-Rovinj_Istria.html\">https:\/\/www.tripadvisor.com\/Restaurant_Review-g303833-d1822764-Reviews-Restaurant_Orca-Rovinj_Istria.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n<h4>Istria Driving Tours<\/h4>\n<p>1 Full Day<\/p>\n<p>Labin &#8211; The most charming hilltop fortress-towns. Go in the morning and spend a couple of hours before driving to Trget for lunch.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.hr\/maps\/dir\/Rovinj\/Labin\/@45.0527547,13.7410503,11z\/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x477cbf634d5c86ff:0xffc69f61c598ae53!2m2!1d13.6387067!2d45.0811661!1m5!1m1!1s0x4763492e71660f7d:0xa1d08ec99dadb953!2m2!1d14.1238049!2d45.091589!3e0?hl=en\">Driving map from Rovinj<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Trget &#8211; fishing village &#8211; restaurant Martin Pescador &#8211; eat seafood lunch!<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.hr\/maps\/dir\/Labin\/Trget\/@45.0539263,14.0546004,13z\/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x4763492e71660f7d:0xa1d08ec99dadb953!2m2!1d14.1238049!2d45.091589!1m5!1m1!1s0x4763360687a3391b:0xdc4625e4dc078a45!2m2!1d14.0558943!2d45.0215639!3e0?hl=en\">Driving map from Labin<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Our restaurant review &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tripadvisor.com\/Restaurant_Review-g562720-d2332333-Reviews-Martin_Pescador-Istria.html\">https:\/\/www.tripadvisor.com\/Restaurant_Review-g562720-d2332333-Reviews-Martin_Pescador-Istria.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p>1 Full Day<br \/>\nPore\u010d + Vrsar &#8211; Beautiful seaside towns \/ fortresses.<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.hr\/maps\/dir\/Rovinj\/Pore%C4%8D\/Vrsar\/@45.1525281,13.611091,12z\/data=!3m1!4b1!4m20!4m19!1m5!1m1!1s0x477cbf634d5c86ff:0xffc69f61c598ae53!2m2!1d13.6387067!2d45.0811661!1m5!1m1!1s0x477c979c94879029:0x7a9e5b587feaabd!2m2!1d13.5947399!2d45.2271652!1m5!1m1!1s0x477c95f5cad0653b:0xb67aa912180e883f!2m2!1d13.6052578!2d45.1499462!3e0?hl=en\">Driving map from Rovinj<\/a><\/p>\n<p>1 Full Day<br \/>\nMotovun + Gro\u017enjan &#8211; Beautiful hill towns, eat truffles in Motovun.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.hr\/maps\/dir\/Rovinj\/Motovun\/Gro%C5%BEnjan\/@45.2313177,13.5944819,11z\/data=!3m1!4b1!4m20!4m19!1m5!1m1!1s0x477cbf634d5c86ff:0xffc69f61c598ae53!2m2!1d13.6387067!2d45.0811661!1m5!1m1!1s0x477ca718145c7a83:0x677595175247d560!2m2!1d13.8278605!2d45.3359506!1m5!1m1!1s0x477b5ff92a8e013b:0xc489338fd0dcbbb7!2m2!1d13.7226113!2d45.3796024!3e0?hl=en\">Driving map from Rovinj<\/a><\/p>\n<p>1 Full Day<br \/>\nBrijuni Islands &#8211; National Park &#8211; drive to Fazana to get to a ferry.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Brijuni\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Brijuni<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.hr\/maps\/dir\/Rovinj\/Fa%C5%BEana\/@45.020593,13.6025373,11z\/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x477cbf634d5c86ff:0xffc69f61c598ae53!2m2!1d13.6387067!2d45.0811661!1m5!1m1!1s0x477cce0ad44b1b25:0x611b65fe12d9dd5e!2m2!1d13.8042445!2d44.928039!3e0?hl=en\">Driving map from Rovinj<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pula is a city with a cultural mixture of people and languages from the\u00a0Mediterranean\u00a0and Central Europe,\u00a0ancient and contemporary. Pula\/Pola&#8217;s architecture reflects these layers of history. Residents are commonly fluent in both Croatian and Italian language but\u00a0also to\u00a0foreign languages\u00a0like German and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1084,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,46,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eu","category-things-to-do","category-travel-guide"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lenkatraveler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lenkatraveler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lenkatraveler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lenkatraveler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lenkatraveler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1083"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lenkatraveler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1083\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1088,"href":"https:\/\/lenkatraveler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1083\/revisions\/1088"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lenkatraveler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lenkatraveler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lenkatraveler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lenkatraveler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}