Pula (Croatian: [pǔːla] ⓘ), also known as Pola[4] (Italian: [ˈpɔːla]; Venetian: Pola; Istriot: Puola; Slovene: Pulj; Hungarian: Póla), is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the Istrian peninsula in western Croatia, with a population of 52,220 in 2021.

[8] Greek tradition attributed the foundation of Polai to the Colchians, mentioned in the context of the story of Jason and Medea, who had stolen the golden fleece.

The Colchians, who had chased Jason into the northern Adriatic, were unable to catch him and ended up settling in a place they called Polai, signifying "city of refuge".

The town was elevated to colonial rank between 46 and 45 BC as the tenth region of the late Roman Republic, under Julius Caesar.

[10] After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the city and region were attacked by the Ostrogoths, Pula being virtually destroyed by Odoacer, a Germanic foederati general in 476 AD.

Pula is quoted by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri, who had visited Pula, in the Divine Comedy: "Sì come a Pola, presso del Carnaro, ch'Italia chiude e i suoi termini bagna" or "As Pola, along the Quarnero, that marks the end of Italy and bathes its boundaries".

During the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, Pula was attacked and occupied by the Genoese, the Hungarian army and the Habsburgs; several outlying medieval settlements and towns were destroyed.

The island of Brioni (in Croatian renamed Brijuni) to the North West of Pola became the summer vacation resort of Austria's Habsburg royal family.

The decline in population after World War I was mainly due to economic difficulties caused by the withdrawal of Austro-Hungarian military and bureaucratic facilities and the dismissal of workers from the shipyard.

In the last phase of the war, Pola saw the arrest, deportation, and execution of people suspected of aiding the Axis, by the partisans who together with the Yugoslav communists killed many soldiers and civilians, in the first episodes of what would have been named, later on, the Foibe massacres.

[citation needed] After World War II, the Istrian Italians of Pula left Yugoslavia towards Italy (Istrian-Dalmatian exodus).

The city became part of the Socialist Republic of Croatia, a federal state within SFR Yugoslavia, upon the ratification of the Paris Peace Treaties on 15 September 1947 – which also created the Free Territory of Trieste.

[citation needed] The city lies on and beneath seven hills on the inner part of a wide gulf and a naturally well-protected port (depth up to 38 m (125 ft)) open to the northwest with two entrances: from the sea and through Fažana channel.

During the World War II Italian fascist administration, there were attempts to dismantle the arena and move it to mainland Italy, which were quickly abandoned due to the costs involved.

A damaged inscription, close to the club, contains the names of Lucius Calpurnius Piso and Gaius Cassius Longinus who were entrusted by the Roman senate to found a colony at the site of Pula.

The city's old quarter of narrow streets, lined with Medieval and Renaissance buildings, are still surfaced with ancient Roman paving stones.

The Byzantine chapel of Santa Maria del Canneto (or St. Mary Formosa) was built in the 6th century (before 546) in the form of a Greek cross, resembling the churches in Ravenna.

When the Venetians raided Pula in 1605, they removed many treasures from this chapel to Venice, including the four columns of oriental alabaster that stand behind the high altar of St Mark's Basilica.

The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in the 6th century, when Pula became the seat of a bishopry, over the remains of the original site where the Christians used to gather and pray in Roman times.

The church still retains several Romanesque and Byzantine characters, such as some parts of the walls (dating from the 4th century), a few of the original column capitals and the upper windows of the nave.

It was built, over the remains of the Roman capitolium, by the Venetians in the 17th century, following the plans of the French military architect Antoine de Ville.

The Archaeological Museum of Istria is situated in the park on a lower level than the Roman theatre and close to the Twin Gates.

In an area of approximately 2,000 m2 (21,528 sq ft), visitors can view inhabitants of the Northern and Southern Adriatic Sea, tropical marine and freshwater fish, and representatives of European rivers and lakes.

As a result of its rich political history, Pula is a city with a cultural mixture of people and languages from the Mediterranean and Central Europe, ancient and contemporary.

[41] Pula's surrounding natural environment, countryside and the turquoise water of the Adriatic have made the city popular summer holiday destination.

The pearl nearby is Brioni island or Brijuni national park visited by numerous world leaders since it was the summer residence of Josip Broz Tito.

Pula is the end point of the EuroVelo 9 cycle route that runs from Gdańsk on the Baltic Sea through Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia.

A train service operates north from Pula through to Slovenia, however, the line remains disconnected from the rest of the Croatian Railways network.

Plans to tunnel the 'missing link' between this line and from Rijeka have existed for many years, and despite work commencing on this project previously, have never seen completion.

Passenger ferries also operate from the port area to nearby islands, and also to Venice and Trieste in Italy from June to September.