Pula (Italian Pola, Slovenian Pulj) is the largest city in Istria, Croatia, at the southern tip of that Peninsula, population 58,594 (2001). A majority of its citizens are Croats with 71.65% (2001 census).
Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, tame sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of Wine making, Fishing, Shipbuilding, and Tourism. Pula has also been Istria's administrative center since ancient Roman times.
Significant Roman settlement (Colonia Pietas Iulia Pola) began in the first century BC. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the city was ruled by Ostrogoths, Franks, and the Venetians, as each succeeded the other in ruling the region. The first arrival of the Slavs in the environs of the town dates to the 7th century. The history of the city continued to reflect its location and significance, like that of the region, in the redrawing of borders between European powers.
Pola is quoted by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri in the "Divina Commedia": "come a Pola, presso del Carnaro ch'Italia chiude e i suoi termini bagna" ("as Pola, along the Quarnero, that marks the end of Italy and bathes its boundaries"). Though at Dante's time Italy political unification was merely a dream, this quote is important because it is the first time that the question of the eastern border arises, and supports later justification for Italian claims on the region.
In 1150 Pola swore allegiance to the most Serene Republic of Venice, thus becoming a Venetian possession. for centuries thereafter the city's fate and fortunes were tied to those of Venetian power. During the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, Pola was attacked and occupied by the Genoese, a Croatian-Hungarian army and the Habsburg; several outlining medieval settlements and towns were wiped off the map. In addition to war, the plague, malaria and typhoid ravaged the city.
With the collapse of Venice in 1797, the city was up for grabs. In 1813, Pola and Istria came under the rule of Austria and became a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire assigned to the "Küstenland". During this period, Pola's large natural harbor became the site of Austria's main naval base and a major Shipbuilding center. The island of Lošinj to the south of Pola became the summer vacation resort of Austria's Habsburg Royal family.
Following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, Pola along with all of Istria became a part of Italy. Italian rule lasted until the end of World War II. For a number of years following that war Pola was administered by the United Nations, including U.S. military forces, as Istria was partitioned into occupation zones until the region became largely united with the rest of Croatia within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY).
When the city was ceded to Yugoslavia its population was largely made up of ethnic Italians -- up to 90 per cent in some accounts, but with the signing of the peace treaty in 1947 most of those who had not already fled after 1945 left. Subsequently, the city's Croatian name of Pula became official. Since the collapse of the SFRY, Pula and Istria have become part of modern Croatia.
The physician Robert Koch worked on the nearby Brijuni islands.
Among the "polesani" (italians natives of the city), Sergio Endrigo, one of most famous italian sing-songwriter ever.
Pula is the end point of the EuroVelo 9 cycle route which runs from Gdansk on the Baltic Sea through Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia.
You can track Dinosaur footprints on the nearby Sea shores; certain more important finds have been made at an undisclosed location near Bale.