ISTRIA - Croatia and Slovenia - page 210

To the Dalmatian Coast: AbusdepartsRovinjeveryeveningat19:00fortheDalmatian
Coast,arrivingin Split at6:00and Dubrovnik at11:00.(Ifthisdirectbusisn'trunning,you
cantakeanearlierbustoPula,fromwherethisnightbusleavesat20:00;alsonotethatPula
has two daytime connections to Split.)
Route Tips for Drivers
Just north of Rovinj, on the coastal road to Pore č , you'll drive briefly along a seven-mile-
longinletdubbedthe Limski Canal (LimskiKanal—sometimescalled“LimskiFjord”...but
only to infuriate Norwegians). Named for the border ( Lim -it) between Rovinj and Pore č ,
this jagged slash in the landscape was created when an underground karstic river collapsed.
Keen-eyed arborists will notice that the canal's southern bank has deciduous trees, and the
northern bank, evergreens. Many Venetian quarries once pulled stone from the walls of this
canal to build houses and embankments. Supposedly the famed pirate Captain Morgan was
so enchanted by this canal that he retired here, founding the nearby namesake town of Mr-
gani. Local tour companies sell boat excursions into the fjord, which is used to raise much
of the shellfish that's slurped down at local restaurants. While the canal isn't worth going
outofyourwaytosee,youmayskirtitanyway.Alongtheroadabovethecanal, you'llpass
kioskssellinggrappa(firewater,a.k.a. rakija ),honey,andotherhomemadeconcoctions.The
recommended Matoševi ć winery is a two-minute drive away (see here ) .
Pula
Pula (POO-lah, Pola in Italian) isn't quaint. Istria's biggest city is an industrial port town
with traffic, smog, and sprawl...but it has the soul of a Roman poet. Between the shipyards,
you'lldiscoversomeofthetopRomanruinsinCroatia,includingastatelyamphitheater—a
fully intact mini-Colosseum that marks the entry to a seedy Old Town with ancient temples,
arches, and columns.
Strategically situated at the southern tip of the Istrian Peninsula, Pula has long been
a center of industry, trade, and military might. In 177 B.C. , the city became an important
outpost of the Roman Empire. It was destroyed during the wars following Julius Caesar's
death and rebuilt by Emperor Augustus. Many of Pula's most important Roman fea-
tures—including its amphitheater—date from this time (early first century A.D. ). But as
Rome fell, so did Pula's fortunes. The town changed hands repeatedly, caught in the cross-
fire of wars between greater powers—Byzantines, Venetians, and Habsburgs. After being
devastated by Venice's enemy Genoa in the 14th century, Pula gathered dust as a ghost
town...still of strategic military importance, but otherwise abandoned.