The City
The city of Poreč in its present configuration was planned by the Romans two thousand years ago, after defeating the Histri population. The city was first a castrum, a military camp with fortified walls, and then grew into an important Roman administrative and economic centre, called Colonia Iulia Parentium. From 1267, and for the next half a millennium, Poreč was ruled by the Venetian Republic, which left an indelible trace: the most beautiful palaces in the city; in 1363, the city statute was published, and in the 15th century, the most modern and imposing towers were built with walls preserved to this day, in the eastern part ‘inside the city gates’. The most important monument has been bequeathed to us by Byzantium - the Euphrasian Basilica with the diocese from the 6th century.
Today, Poreč has 16,696 inhabitants. Thanks to its extraordinary geographical position and natural and cultural beauty, today it is one of the leading tourist destinations in Croatia. The main economic activity is tourism, correlated very well with trade, construction and agriculture.
Did you know that you have chosen to spend your holiday in a city whose history reaches as far back as prehistoric times?
Embark on a trip through time to the second century before Christ when the hill-fort settlements of Picuga and the top of Sveti Anđel (Holy Angel) were founded on surrounding higher ground from where the inhabitants could better defend themselves. Later Ancient Greek records from the 6th century BC bear witness to a small fishing settlement which the Romans, through conquering the Histrians, will transform into their colony Iuliu Parentium. The remains of Villa rustica, ancient temples and its urban centre bear witness to the influence of the Roman Empire.
This was followed by centuries of occupation and colonisation. In the year 539 the rule of the Byzantine Empire began and as early as the beginning of the 7th century Poreč was inhabited by the Slavs who built their first permanent settlement here around the year 620. By 1267, when Poreč came under the rule of the Venetian Republic, Poreč had been under Frankish rule and the rule of Aquileian Patriarchs. For the next five hundred years they ruled the entire coastal belt of Western Istria. With the fall of the once mighty and powerful Venice in 1797 Poreč fell under Napoleonic rule and in 1814 became part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.
Starting in 1861 Poreč became the capital city of Istria and the seat of the Istrian Parliament. From 1920 to 1943 Italy ruled over the city while from 1943 onwards Poreč and the rest of Istria became part of Croatia.