Roman Time in Pula

Since I am a complete sucker for Roman monuments, the highlight of today was the Roman arena in Pula, the best-preserved ancient monument in Croatia and one of the world’s six largest remaining arenas.  I love imagining how it must have been in 70 AD II should watch Gladiator again!) and also love that it is now used for concerts and opera.  But it is only preserved because someone had the foresight to ban the plunder of the rock from the colosseum by the 13th century.

I googled to find the video of Andrea Boccelli performing there but only found videos of the Foo Fighters and a Croatian duo called the 2 Cellos.  Even without Andrea, it was pretty cool to see the arena at night, filled with spectators.

After the area, we walked the Roman route – the Triumphal Arch of Sergii, the Temple of Augustus, the Forum and the Communal Palace, now Town Hall.

It was a quick 2-hour walking tour and well worth the visit.  It was also easy, as it was only about a 45-minute drive from my base in Rovinj.  Parking was easy although it was a lot busier in the afternoon by the time we left.