Amphitheatre

Intact Roman arena from the 1st century, still hosting events

The most famous monument in Pula and the starting point for any visit. This Roman amphitheatre was built in the 1st century AD during the reign of Emperor Vespasian, around the same time as the Colosseum in Rome. Oval in plan, roughly 130 metres long and 100 metres wide, it could seat about 20,000 spectators for gladiatorial fights.

Local limestone was used throughout. The outer wall with its two rows of arches is remarkably well preserved. In the Middle Ages the arena hosted knight tournaments and fairs; today it is used for summer concerts, film screenings, and the Pula Film Festival, seating around 5,000.

The underground passages where gladiators once waited now hold a permanent exhibition on viticulture and olive growing in Roman Istria, with reconstructed presses and amphorae.

things to do sight
A story
The Pula Arena is the only Roman amphitheatre in the world that has preserved all four side towers intact. Napoleon's general, Marmont, governed Pula in the early 19th century and seriously proposed dismantling the arena stone by stone and reassembling it in a park in Paris — the plan was only abandoned after local protests.