Today is actually our last day of touring because tonight we sail for Venice and depart tomorrow morning for Venice's Marco Polo airport.
We arrived in Pula this morning in bright sunshine. Pula is the largest city in Istria County, situated at the southern tip of the Instria peninsula. Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing, shipbuilding, and tourism. The city is best known for its many surviving ancient Roman buildings, the most famous of which is its 1st century amphitheater, which is among the six largest surviving Roman arenas in the world and locally known as the arena. Coming into port the arena stood out like a beacon!
Pula is a very ancient city with close ties to Italy and was actually part of Italy until Yugoslavia was formed after WWI. We met our local guide this morning at 9:00 and began with our tour of the ancient Roman amphitheater. Originally a small amphitheater built by Claudius, it was enlarged by Vespasian in 70 AD for gladiatorial fights and could hold 23,000 roaring spectators. Today, the stadium holds up to 5,000 spectators for concerts and and annual fil festival. Recently, it was the stage for the Oscar award winning film, Gladiator.
The port of Pula
View of the amphitheater from our ship
Amphitheater up close
Laura Ines, Tauck director for our group of 30.
We went below the amphitheater to see artifacts from ancient times - amphoras, vessels made for transporting goods such as olive oil and grains and also olive presses.
Amphoras
I know what you are thinking but these are amphoras laid on their sides.
An ancient olive press
Istria was recently voted as having the best olive oil, replacing Italy for the first time. After the amphitheater we visited the local city market and on the way we viewed ancient Roman arches which were entrances to the cities.
Ancient Roman arch
Roman arch
City market
Olive Oil
City market
City market
City market
City market
We returned to our ship around 11:00 and we looked out our window at 11:30 and it was pouring rain really hard! We coudn't believe it because it was so sunny with no hint of rain just a half an hour earlier!
It continued to pour during lunch and we thought our luck had really run out. At 2:00 pm we met in the theater to get our final instructions for tomorrow's disembarkation procedure. The ship had moved to the city of Rovinj and we were due for a tour at 3:00 pm. We changed into warmer clothes and pulled out our umbrella to prepare for a wet tour of our final city. However, just before we left, the sun came out full force and was sunny and warm again! We couldn't believe it! We dodged another bullet!
Rovinj has a population of 13,5000. This picturesque town was an island throughout the 18th century, before it was connected to the mainland by the present causeway. It's west we all is steep and rocky, making it easy to defend from the sea and it has been fortified since Roman times.
The Romans conquered Istria in 1777 BC. On the foundations of the old Illyrian settlement they built Raginiu, but it remained a minor outpost for the Romans. When the Roman Empire divided, Rovinj and the rest of Istria came under the control of the Eastern Empire. The Slavs, who settled form the north in the 7th century AD, gave the town its present name.
The massive cathedral of Saint Euphemia completely dominates the town from its hilltop location. It was built in 1736 and is the largest Baroqud building in Istria. The church includes the marble tomb of Saint Euphemia who was toured by Emperor Diocletian and thrown to the lions in 304 AD. After spending a few centuries in Constantinople, hrs sarcophagus miraculously appeared in Rovinj (an incredulous story told to us by our guide and was impossible for us to believe!). Of course we visited the cathedral and had to ascend about 1,000 steep steps through a narrow street to reach it. Our group had dwindled to about six people who made the trek. It was hard to believe that the local townspeople had to climb these steps every day if they wished to shop and attend mass at the church.
Coming int to Rovinj
Clock tower in the city square of Rovinj, dedicated to St. Mark ( the lion is the symbol of Venice)
Ascending the narrow steps to the cathedral
Narrow street
Stain Euphemia Cathedral
Spire that actual as a weather vane
Saint Euphemia's tomb
Statue of Mother Teresa donated to church
View of the Adriatic on the way down from the cathedral
Street scene
Scene from a restaurant
Courtyard cistern
Rovinj marina
In the evening we had the captain's farewell cocktail reception on the pool deck and he introduced the entire crew and said his farewell to us. Later we shared our final dinner with friends.
Captain bids farewell
Our Tauck directors
Final dinner with friends
