OLD CHURCHES IN THE OLDEST TOWNS OF SOUTH ISTRIA

Two towns situated close to one another in the eastern part of Istria, and formed on olde Histrii tribe hilllfort settlements, have had a completely different development and destiny. The town of Nesactium or Vizace near Valtuar suffered severe damage on two separate occasions, and it has never recovered from Slavic and Avar devastations that took place in the early 7th century. Today, this town is just an interesting archaeological site that has been explored for more than a century now. Remains of ancient forums and numerous temples, including two big parallel hall churches with inscribed apses, have been discovered in the course of these explorations. Pula has been spared from such ravages and it still has numerous ancient monuments and churchers, including the town's cathedral, are still in use. Although more than twenty early Chiristian churches were built, not many of them have been preserved to the present day. Most of these churches were in fact demolished in the mid 19th century when Pula became the main Austriaan military port, and when large-scale defence systems were built around this town. All of the churches that used to exist on small islands in the Pula bay were also demolished in that period. However, written data and drawings of most churches have been preserved, and architectural remains of some of them can still be seen. The most interesting example is the Church of St. Mary of Formosa dating back to the 6th century, which can be described as one of the most luxurious churches in our region. This church has now been reduced to no more than a small chapel adjacent to the south apse.