Pula Cathedral

Pula (Croatian: [pǔːla] ), also known as Pola (Italian: [ˈpɔːla]; Venetian: Pola; Istriot: Puola; Slovene: Pulj; Hungarian: Póla), is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the Istrian peninsula in northwestern Croatia, with a population of 52,220 in 2021. It is known for its multitude of ancient Roman buildings, the most famous of which is the Pula Arena, one of the best preserved Roman amphitheaters. The city has a long tradition of wine making, fishing, shipbuilding, and tourism. It was the administrative centre of Istria from ancient Roman times until superseded by Pazin in 1991.

The Monastery and Church of St. Francis in Pula are located on the western slope of the Pula hill, halfway between the Forum and the medieval fortress at the top, on the site where previously was the early Christian complex of St. John the Baptist.The Franciscans came to Pula immediately after St. Francis founded the Franciscan Order, with the consent of Pope Innocent III, in 1209.The church, in the late Romanesque style and with Gothic adornments, was built in 1314. Completed by the architect Jakov Puljanin (Jacobus de Pola), it was designed in accordance with the rules issued in Narbonne in 1260, including a typical rectangular floor plan of the church with a square sanctuary, a single-walled bell tower, a cloister and a monastery with rooms for the friars, a capitular hall, a refectory and a sacristy that connects the monastery with the choir.The church is simple and strict in form, as befits a church of the begging order. The fine treatment of the stone blocks from which the walls were built evidences the skill of the masters who participated in the construction. On the main altar is a large wooden, gilded polyptych from the middle of the 15th century, created under the influence of the Vivarini school. It is one of the most valuable works of wooden Gothic sculpture in Istria. In the central field is a high relief of the Virgin with Christ, and on the side and in the row above the relief are a total of 12 saintly figures. The polyptych ends with carved Gothic phials. The monastery has a cloister with early Renaissance pillars, built in the 15th century. Next to the church is a Gothic cloister with Renaissance adaptations; in the cloister and in front of the entrance to the church there is a lapidarium of medieval monuments and a collection of copies of wall paintings from Istria. This Romanesque church is adorned with a "portal decorated with floral motifs."The Franciscan complex presents a mix of Gothic forms and the Mediterranean tradition of construction.In the church of St. Francis in Pula are the remains of Blessed Otto, who, according to some sources, came to Pula around 1235, on the occasion of the founding of the monastery there. He died in Pula in 1241, and numerous healings attributed to him are recorded in many books and martyrologies of the Franciscan order. In Pula, the veneration of Blessed Otto continues today.

The Temple of Augustus (Croatian: Augustov hram; Italian: Tempio di Augusto) is a well-preserved Roman temple in the city of Pula, Croatia (known in Roman times as Pietas Iulia). Dedicated to the first Roman emperor, Augustus, it was probably built during the emperor's lifetime at some point between 27 BC and his death in AD 14. It was built on a podium with a tetrastyle prostyle porch of Corinthian columns and measures about 8 by 17.3 m (26 by 57 ft), and 14 m (46 ft) high. The richly decorated frieze is similar to that of a somewhat larger and more recent temple, the Maison Carrée in Nîmes, France. These two temples are considered the two best complete Roman monuments outside Italy.

The Dvojna vrata (Porta Gemina) is a Roman city gate located in Pula, Croatia. It was built during the late 2nd century. Porta Gemina is a double arched gate. It was one of the ten city gates of Pula, standing at the north side of the capitol.

The Basilica of Santa Maria del Canneto, or Santa Maria Formosa, was a sixth-century Byzantine church erected in Pola (modern-day Pula, Croatia) under the patronage of Maximianus, bishop of Ravenna. The structure was damaged at the time of the Venetian sack of Pola in 1243, and building material was subsequently taken from the ruins and primarily incorporated into the Marciana Library and the Basilica of Saint Mark in Venice. Of the large, triple-nave church, comparable in splendour to the Euphrasian Basilica in Parenzo (modern-day Poreč), only one of the lateral chapels survives. It constitutes the sole construction in Pola dating to the Byzantine period.

Arch of the Sergii (Croatian: Slavoluk Sergijevaca) is an Ancient Roman triumphal arch located in Pula, Croatia. The arch commemorates three members of the Sergii family, specifically Lucius Sergius Lepidus, a tribune serving in the twenty-ninth legion that participated in the Battle of Actium and disbanded in 27 BC. This suggests an approximate date of construction: 29–27 BC. The arch stood behind the original naval gate of the early Roman colony. The Sergii were a powerful family of officials in the colony and retained their power for centuries.

The Pula Arena (Croatian: Pulska Arena; Italian: Arena di Pola) is a Roman amphitheatre located in Pula, Croatia. It is the only remaining Roman amphitheatre to have four side towers entirely preserved. It was constructed between 27 BC and AD 68, and is among the world's six largest surviving Roman arenas. The arena is also the country's best-preserved ancient monument. The amphitheatre was depicted on the reverse of the Croatian 10 kuna banknote, issued in 1993, 1995, 2001 and 2004.

German submarine U-81 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the navy (Kriegsmarine) of Nazi Germany during World War II, famous for sinking the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal.

The local government of the City of Pula is seated in the Communal Palace (Croatian: Komunalna palača u Puli; Italian: Palazzo Comunale), located on the Forum Square, in the center of the city.

Premantura (Italian: Promontore) is a small village in the municipality of Medulin in Istria, on the southernmost tip Istrian Peninsula, just south of the city of Pula. A short distance from Premantura is Cape Kamenjak – a small peninsula consisting of more than 30 km of coastline with several coves and beaches. In the southernmost part of Istria (county of the Julian region), on a sliver land surrounded by the sea and perched on the top of a hill, there lies a small and ancient village. It had been called Promontorium Polaticum first, then Promontore (Promontore d’ Istria) and finally Premantura. Throughout history Premantura & Kamenjak have been exposed to constant changes of government due to the importance and uniqueness of its position. In the 20th century, the inhabitants of Premantura had lived through six different political regimes or states. The inhabitants of Premantura became famous for their ample to catch of a very delicious type of crab. Premantura is naturally connected with the Cape Kamenjak – a small peninsula which was, due to its exceptional beauty and variety of plants and animal species, declared a protected area back in 1996. Kamenjak peninsula is 3400 m long, wide between 500–1200 m and includes 30 km of coastline, beautiful bays and beaches, many protected and endemic plant and animal species such as: endemic orchids, butterflies, Mediterranean monk seal, crabs and more. The best evidence about the ancient history of Premantura Kamenjak are the 146 dinosaur footprints found on Kamenjak that are more than 90 million years old.

The Juraj Dobrila University of Pula (Croatian: Sveučilište Jurja Dobrile u Puli, Latin: Universitas studiorum Polensis Georgii Dobrila) is a university in Pula, Croatia. It was founded in 2006 and has eleven constituents.

Stadion Aldo Drosina (Italian: Stadio Aldo Drosina) is a multi-use stadium in Pula, Croatia. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of NK Istra 1961 and formerly NK Istra. The stadium has a capacity of 8,900. From March 2009 to January 2011 the stadium underwent a major reconstruction. The west stand was completely demolished and redesigned, and a roof was added over the west stand. New seats replaced bench seating all around the stadium, and the three existing stands were cleaned up. On 9 February 2011, Croatia hosted the Czech Republic in an international football friendly for the inaugural match to open the stadium. The match finished with a 4–2 win for Croatia. The stadium is named after Aldo Drosina (1932–2000), a noted football player and coach from Pula.