Pula Postcard

Arena, Pula (Italian: Pola, Classic Latin: Pietas Julia), Italy The Roman arena was built in the 1st century AD outside the city along the Via Flavia. The first amphitheatre was a wooden structure which was replaced with a small stone building. The construction of the current structure was begun by Vespasian and it was finished under emperor Titus. From the 5th century it was used as "stone supply" for local constructions. The plunder was prohibited in the 13th century. (In the 18th century it was used as a quarry again, to build the new cathedral of the city.) In the Middle Ages the building returned to its original use: knight tournaments was organised here, but it served also as a marketplace. The reconstruction of the arena began with the French dominance during the Napoleonic wars.