Arena

Once upon a time, there were fairies in Istria, who danced in the meadows at night and showed themselves to people only occasionally. Sometimes, they brought luck to the people and they were builders too. And so, they say, they also built the Arena in Pula, bringing rocks from Učka every year. This legend is most likely a result of the respectful fear of such a miraculous work like the Pula Amphitheatre. This is precisely why its name among the people was “Divić-Town”, “divić” being the old-Slavic word for a miracle.

And this miracle has remained well-preserved until today. As a matter of fact, this is one of the best preserved 200 Roman amphitheatres worldwide, and at the same time, the largest and the most preserved monument of ancient architecture in Croatia. The Pula Arena is the sixth largest Roman amphitheatre and certainly a top-grade must-see in Pula nowadays.    

The amphitheatre is believed to be built in 1st century, during the reign of the Emperor Vespasian, at the same time as the Colosseum in Rome. It is unclear as to why Romans built such a magnificent work precisely here, but the legend says that Vespasian wanted to impress his mistress, who owned properties in Pula. The Arena has the elliptical layout, the longer axis measuring about 130 m and the shorter one about 100 m, and the local limestone was used for its construction.

It is believed that once it could accommodate as many as 20,000 spectators on its stone steps and in the gallery. In the middle, there is an arena, where cruel gladiator fights or fights with animals were once held. After they were prohibited in 7th century, during the Middle Ages this was the site of knights tournaments and fairs, and the space was also often used for grazing animals.

The Arena is nowadays a spectacular stage that can seat some 5,000 spectators. Among many summer events held here are the famous Pula Film Festival, concerts, the Opera Season, staged gladiator fights and various plays and parties. The Arena has also hosted a number of the world famous musicians such as Luciano Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli, Jose Carreras, Jamiroquai, Eros Ramazzotti, Elton John, Sting, Joe Cocker, Manu Chao, Grace Jones and Kraftwerk.  

The underground passages, once used by the gladiators and animals, nowadays host the permanent exhibition of olive growing and viticulture in Istria in ancient times, including reconstructions of machines once used for the production of olive oil and wine, and amphorae used for transporting olive oil and wine.  The exhibition depicts the fascinating production of wine and olive oil in this area already in ancient times.

And this is not the only ancient heritage in Pula. The whole town is full of monuments and sites from the Roman period. The forum, arches, temple and mosaics are just some of many works that remained complete or may be seen as ruins on the streets and squares of this town.