Pula Cathedral

The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Pula is the city's main Catholic church and a co-cathedral of the Poreč-Pula diocese. It stands in the historic centre near the waterfront, and its walls carry nearly two thousand years of Istrian history, from Roman colony to early Christianity to the Venetian and Habsburg eras.

What is the history of the cathedral?

The site was sacred long before today's church. Tradition holds that a Roman temple of Jupiter stood here, and remains of Roman baths were found nearby.

In the 4th and 5th centuries an early Christian basilica rose here, and the building took the broad shape we still recognise. A mosaic floor was laid in the 5th century. Fragments survive, and their inscriptions name donors who paid for individual sections. Pieces from the 5th and 6th centuries can still be seen in the church.

Later centuries reshaped the building. After a fire in 1242 it was rebuilt in several stages, and the windows of the side aisles show Gothic features. Sources also point to the 15th century as the time the church reached its later form.

What will you see inside?

The interior has three naves. Antique columns, reused from earlier buildings, draw the eye. The high altar is a Roman sarcophagus holding relics of 3rd-century saints, an unusual union of pagan antiquity and Christian liturgy in a single object.

Notice the contrast between the austere masonry and the richer furnishings, and look down at the floor, where traces of the old mosaics remain.

A bell tower built from amphitheatre stone

Beside the church stands a freestanding bell tower from the second half of the 17th century, built roughly between 1671 and 1707. Its stone blocks were taken from the Roman amphitheatre, Pula's Arena. So the city's two best-known monuments are linked quite literally, by their material.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the cathedral? In the old town centre of Pula, Croatia, close to the harbour, at about 44.871 N, 13.843 E.

What kind of church is it? A Roman Catholic co-cathedral of the Poreč-Pula diocese.

Did a temple of Jupiter really stand here? Sources say so, and remains of Roman baths were found nearby.

What serves as the main altar? A Roman sarcophagus containing relics of 3rd-century saints.

Where did the bell tower's stone come from? From Pula's Roman amphitheatre.

Is it worth going inside? Yes, if you enjoy layered history: ancient columns, mosaic fragments and a sarcophagus used as an altar are the highlights. It is easy to combine with a visit to the Arena and the old town.