After we arrived we parked in the same car park and went out into the town to visit the market that was close by. There was an outside area with rows of colourful pitches with stalls straining under the weight of fruit and vegetables all presented for purchase in an untidy but satisfying way but the best part of the market was the covered building constructed of iron and glass which housed the butchers and the delicatessens and best of all the fishmongers.
The first century amphitheatre is the most important and most impressive building in Pula because it is the sixth largest in the world and one of the best preserved examples of its kind.
The Coliseum in Rome was the biggest Roman amphitheatre and could seat a massive fifty-thousand spectators (Some estimates suggest eighty thousand but generally about fifty thousand is the agreed capacity of the stadium), the second largest was Capua, also in Italy but now sadly in ruin, which had only a slightly smaller capacity, and the third was in El Djem in Tunisia with a capacity of thirty-five thousand.
Posted in Croatia, Europe, History, Travel, World Heritage
Tagged café Orfej, Croatia, Fazana, Istria, Pula, Roman Amphitheatre, Roman Empire, Roman Games, Roman Gladiator, Spartacus
After a leisurely lunch at the Orfej where the staff seemed genuinely pleased to see us again and where we would surely soon qualify for a discount loyalty card, we walked back through the quietly relaxing streets with their laid back atmosphere and we made our way to what was the only remaining site to visit, the Castle Museum which was inside the star shaped fourteenth century Venetian castle that had been upgraded by the Austro-Hungarians as a look out tower to watch over the port and the fleet in the bay below.
Posted in Croatia, Europe, History, Italy, Travel
Tagged café Orfej, Croatia, Pula, Roman Amphitheatre, Roman Theatre Pula, Venetian Castle
I have to say that the town didn’t look especially interesting or picturesque as we walked along a busy industrialised harbour front that was fronted with bleak marine associated offices and was sadly without bars and cafés, but things improved as we walked back from the dockside and into main town street behind and we found a pleasant looking restaurant called the café Orfej advertising very reasonably priced meals.
Posted in Croatia, Europe, History, Hotels, Italy, Travel
Tagged Amphitheatre, Arch of Sergii, café Orfej, Croatia, Lord Elgin, Pula, Roman Games, Roman Gladiator, Temple of Romae and Augustus
Have Bag, Will Travel 