CROATIAN TOWNS

                                             Pula and Zadar
        Pula, a city of 5000 located on the southernmost tip of Istria, is the largest city and has the only airport in Istria. Many Istrian towns have two official names, one Italian and one Croatian. The 400 years of Venetian rule have strongly influenced the region’s architecture.

      The large regional center has some industry, a large naval base and a busy commercial harbor. It was an important base for Romans and Roman ruins abound.  The Venetian Citadel, 17^th century, is in the center of Old Town.

   A well preserved 1^st century Roman Amphitheater, seating 23,000, is the 3rd largest of its kind preserved in the world,--northeast of old town, it overlooks the harbor.  Constructed entirely of local limestone, it was built for gladiator contests. When gladiator contests were outlawed it was used as a market. The inside has been gutted but the nearly complete outside remains. Shows are now preformed inside.

     We found much less English spoken here as well as less friendly people. The town, except for the Roman ruins, had little to offer. Strong Turkish coffee is common here but picturesque sidewalk coffee cafes were few. We entered one establishment to buy a drink in order to use the bathroom.

     Grape vineyards and olive groves thrive in the red soil.   During Europe’s 30-year war, 1618-1648, Croats were sent to Paris. They wore a scarf in a unique way. The French intrigued with the fashion 

      Zadar has a long, tumultuous and dynamic history as it has been destroyed, plundered, and devastated only to surpass these obstacles and rise from the ruins with even more beauty, strength and wealth. In 1202 the city was burned and conquered by crusaders and Venetians. After the city’s burning, the first Gothic churches in Dalmatia were built.  Following Venetian rule Zadar was ruled by the Austrians (1797), later the French from 1806-13. After the short French rule the Austrians again ruled until 1918 when the city became part of Italy. After WWII, Zadar was united with Croatia. Today it is part of the independent Republic of Croatia.

      This city of 72,500, sitting on a long peninsula between the harbor and the channel, is the main city of northern Dalmatia. Its strategic position made it a target during war time. It was damaged in 1943-44 during WW II and again in 1991 when 60 percent of the city was destroyed. Rebuilding and restoration has been slow but has retained the city’s old flavor. 

     Parts of the ancient wall remain. Today there is a large tuna fishing industry with much of the tuna being exported to Japan. Basketball is big in this town. Baron von Trap was born in Zadar. We sampled their local sausage at lunch time. The servings were huge and we each ate only half of our meal. The use of credit cards is less in Croatia than in Slovenia where I used it all the time. It was an unusually hot day with temperatures in the mid to high 80s.

       We met our guide in the main square, the general meeting place.  Dalmatia starts in Zadar and runs south to Dubrovnik. Croatia’s oldest university was started in Zadar in 1396.

      The ancient seaside market town with Italian accents is one of the oldest Slavic cities on the Adriatic coast. Roman and Venetian heritage has created a rich turbulent history and the culture and spirit is reflected in the town’s numerous monuments. It seems to be a city of churches.

      Marble traffic-free streets in old town are replete with Roman ruins, medieval churches and fascinating museums. Massive 16^th century fortifications still shield the city on the land side while high walls protect along the harbor.

      The guide walked us all around the city trying her best to find shade every time we stopped. St. Donatus was built over the old Roman forum destroyed in a 6^th century quake. The tower was added in the 16^th century and the church added to in the 19^th century. It is only 200 steps up to the tower. The round part of the church is used for concerts as it has great acoustics.

      Just before walking the promenade we stopped in a grove of trees to gaze upon the profile of Alfred Hitchcock on a bulletin board. Hitchcock visited Zadar in the 1960s, loved the cherry liqueur and said the sunsets were the most beautiful in the world.

      It seems all Adriatic cities have promenades and this one was tree lined. A sea breeze made the walk to the wave organ bearable. The original purpose was to extend the sea wall to accommodate cruise ships. The wave organ was a wonderful and creative bonus. Thirty-five horizontal pipes of various lengths and widths run under the Zadar channel. Holes on the sidewalk whistle as the waves hit the pipes below. It creates a sound similar to that when blowing across a soda bottle. Several rows of steps/seats are available so one can enjoy the tranquility and concert. In the evenings many sit here to watch the sun set.

     Our hotel was built during the communist era and typically had a mammoth street level reception area and an equally huge restaurant. Rooms were a bit small, but ours was comfortable and had a balcony that afforded a pleasant view. We did not find Zadar particularly interesting, but maybe it was the exceptionally hot day.

ROMAN RUINS

                                       Fantastic Large Ruins             

            I hadn’t planned it but I knew we would be at the large Roman Ruins  in Aosta on my birthday. Aosta (oo sta—the a is silent) was an hour and a half ride from our base in Cogne, Italy. Located in the northwestern corner of Italy in the center of the Aosta valley the city stands at an altitude of 1900-feet, and is bounded on the north by Switzerland and to the west by France.

            Founded in 25 BC by Romans, primarily as a military camp, it is often called Rome of the Alps. The area was established where two roads intersected. Surrounded by mountains, Medieval Aosta with its cobbled streets and overhanging upper stories is a charming old alpine town. Houses are double story, made of stucco and painted various colors. Slate roofs are the most common. With a population of 25,000 the city is the largest in the valley. Walking around the historic center is easy as no cars are allowed.

             The spectacular mountains, four of which -- Mont Blanc, Cervino (also known as the Matterhorn), Monte Rosa and Gran Paradiso -- stand higher than 13,123 feet.

            A local guide walked us around the extensive Roman ruins, stopping often during the three hours to explain what we were seeing. I’ve seen many Roman ruins in many different places over the years, but except in Rome, most often they were viewed from above frequently through protective glass. It was a thrill to walk through the gates and to walk among the well preserved ruins.

South entrance

            We started on the south side of the extensive ruins. Much of the fortification wall remains. The ancient town walls of Agusta Praetoria Salassorum enclose an area approximately 2360-feet by 1855-feet. The 20-foot high wall was built of concrete faced with stone. The bottom of the wall was about 10-feet thick and the top about six feet wide. The stone work was in remarkably good repair! The stones originally came from the river. The wall originally had 20 towers; the one on the southern wall is square, is original and is complete to a certain height—maybe 15 feet up. The towers were modified in the Middle Ages and one tower added brick work to show where the tower was altered or added to.

Old Roman Wall

            The rectangular arrangement of the streets is modeled on a Roman plan dividing the town into 64 blocks or insulae. The main road was 32-feet wide and divided the city into two equal halves running east to west.

            Among the ruins, outlying areas mix modern buildings with the old. The main square is large and bordered by large modern neo-classical buildings. The street is cobbled with the typical 3-4” granite squares common in the area.  The 11^th century cathedral is located in the area of the original forum. The 16^th century façade entrance (1522-1526) is gorgeous with wonderful frescos bordering all around the entrance door. In the 19^th century the white classical façade was added around the 16^th century part, making for a stunning total appearance.           

            Inside, glass covers a 4^th century baptismal font. The building of a vaulted ceiling destroyed ancient frescoes. The crucifix dates to 1397. The choir stall contains 15^th century walnut wood chairs that the seat can be flipped up so the monks could stand and lean against them to rest from a sitting position. The 18th century inlaid altar is simply gorgeous. The floor by the altar has lovely mosaics, one of which had been cleaned.

            We spent a good deal of time in the old theater that seated 4000 people. Instead of being the typical round theater, this one was rectangular shaped. The theory being the roof would be easier to build than a round one.

            The columns in the cloister are made of marble. Each has an evangelical or biblical scene as well as scenes from the life of Saint Orso.  The 12th century bell tower is the most impressive in the region.  It originally functioned as a place of refuge, as it is surrounded and defended by a bat­tlement wall.

            In the 15^th century brick and terra cotta decoration was added to the monastery façade. Inside the church the large square columns were of wide stripes of two different kinds of marble. The altar carvings were beautiful. There were several small sanctuaries on the inside left wall of the church.  It is still an operating monastery.

            We left the ruins through the south gate where we had entered the UNESCO site. The gate  has three arches; the large middle arch was for carriages and the two smaller gates, one on each side, were for pedestrians.

            What a fantastic morning we had spent with an animated and well informed guide.

ANCIENT RUINS

Old Roman Ruins

            After a late breakfast on our last day in Bruges, Belgium we headed out into the cold, windy, overcast day.

            Our first stop was less than a block away at the Crown Hotel. Located on the corner of the Burg, we’d heard there were visible ancient ruins in the hotel. We entered the lobby like we knew what we were doing and headed directly to a glassed wall pretty much opposite the entrance to see what might be behind. We glimpsed a couple of old stone pillars and then I suddenly heard English being spoken.

            With a quick check around the lobby we realized there was an English tour about ready to start. Quietly I said, “Let’s fall in behind those people and listen to what the fellow says and see what we can learn.”

            “It looks like an organized group.”

            “Just be quiet and see what happens. The worse they can do is ask us to leave.”

            We did, and were we lucky! Instead of just standing before the glass wall, the docent took the group down the stairs and after turning on some lights actually took us into the crypt and a large underground room of the old church of St. Donatius. The old foundation was beautifully built and pretty much complete.  The ruins were large and hidden switches bathed the area in light. It looked like meetings actually continue to take place in the basement of the hotel.

            Just before starting up the stairs we turned to the lady bringing up the rear, who at one time had looked at us suspiciously,  and thanked her for allowing us to tag along.

            From the Burg we ventured off with map in hand on a rather long walk to find the

Kempinski Hotel. For some reason this seemed a bit hidden and it took a bit of endurance to find it. We probably unknowingly took a circuitous route.

            Philip the Good built the initial estate in 1429 to celebrate his marriage to Isabelle of Portugal in 1430. Three days after the wedding celebrations Duke Philip founded the Prinsenhof in honor of his wife and to reward his loyal knights.

            When finished the estate was seven times its present size containing several buildings. The hotel now is owned by the Kempinski hotel chain that in 2003 restored this hotel to its previous splendor. The hotel is divided into two sections, the historic castle and the new part.  

            When I had seen the hotel in some travel literature I thought it would be fun to stay here, but it was no way as centrally located as our hotel, which was truly lovely. However, my curiosity had been satisfied and it was fun to speculate on centuries long gone!