T he seaside city of Pula is the perfect place to begin exploring Croatia’s beautiful northern Istria peninsula – a sun-baked stretch of coast that has served as a valuable crossroads to Europeans for millennia and still blends the continent’s many influences. The vestiges of bygone times are everywhere – and are cherished.
Remarkably, Pula is home to one of Croatia’s oldest citizens, a woman born near the end of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Her descendants have spanned Mussolini’s Italy, German occupation during World War Two, been both Yugoslavian and Croatian, and seen the nation join the eurozone in January. Six generations of one family, born in Pula, an ancient and yet very modern city.
I discover this leaving the restored Roman arena, the only surviving Roman amphitheatre to have four side towers entirely preserved. I stroll down a storied street with galleries, gelato stands, an oak-lined park and Austrian villa. I duck into