Old Town

Pula's old town wraps round a low hill crowned by the Kaštel, the star-shaped fortress with four bastions that the Venetians built in the 17th century over the…Pula's old town wraps round a low hill crowned by the Kaštel, the star-shaped fortress with four bastions that the Venetians built in the 17th century over the remains of the Roman capitolium. The Forum below it was laid out in the 1st century BC close to the sea and is still the main square, with the Temple of Augustus on one side.

The Roman city shows through the street plan. The Arena, begun under Augustus and finished under Titus, is among the six largest surviving Roman amphitheatres, and the Arch of the Sergii of the 1st century BC marks the edge of the old town. Pula was the Roman colony of Pietas Iulia and, much later, Austria's main naval base and a shipbuilding centre, which is why shipyard cranes stand across the harbour from the monuments.