Pula Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church that stands on a site of the much older historic church. It is hard to say when first Christian communities appeared in Pula. For the first three centuries Christians were hunted and killed by the Roman officials. The first Pula Cathedral was erected on this spot in the 4th century AD. It was a site for worship, celebration and in time of danger last refuge. After Christianity became a legal religion in Roman Empire (Edict of Milan - 313 AD) Pula Christians created a large place of worship. After a devastating fire of 1242 Pula Cathedral was reconstructed. Although the roof and parts of the church were fixed, the base was kept pretty much untouched. Fragments of mosaics dating to 5th and 6th centuries AD are still visible today. Additionally Pula Cathedral keeps a Roman sarcophagus that dates back to the 3rd century AD. Apparently it houses the remains of the unknown Christian martyr that was killed during one of the waves of Christian persecutions. The bell tower of the cathedral was constructed in the 17th century from stones that were quarried at the Pula amphitheater.
It has been suggested that the site of the present cathedral was the
site of a temple of Jupiter the conservator in Roman times. Remains of
Thermae have also been found, and during the Roman persecution of
Christians it is probably here, as well as at the place where the Church
of St. Francis, was a place of secret gathering of Christians.
In
4. and 5. for centuries, along the city's sea walls, a whole complex of
old Christian buildings was built here. On the site of the cathedral a
smaller church was first built the width of the middle nave of the
present church. Mid 4. a single-nave Church of sv. Tome, later
incorporated into an extended Hall Church (probably after 392.). In the
second half 5. it was transformed into a three-nave church Basilica with
a characteristic architectural solution for the North Adriatic area: an
inscribed APSE and the straight back of the church. At the same time, in
front of the Basilica, the baptistery of the cross floor of a special
design and the bishop's court were erected, demolished in the middle of
the 19th century. century after the transfer of the seat of the diocese
to Poreč in 1828. year.
Today's Cathedral, therefore, was created
by the expansion of the previous buildings in the 5th. century. It was
richly decorated with wall frescoes and floor mosaics, of which a very
small part survives today, namely a mosaic with the names of the married
couple DAMIANUS ET LAVRENTIA who pledged funds to the church for 200
feet of floor mosaic.
In 1860. a relic grave in the form of a
smaller stone sarcophagus was discovered in the church. In a silver box
with a series of partitions were discovered 2 reliquaries, which are now
in Vienna, and 12 golden statues that later disappeared without a trace
and a voice. A smaller Gold Box was also found in the silver box,
presumably containing the bone remains of St. Joseph. Tom, probably
brought from Constantinople at 5. century, and today they are kept in
the Museum of art history in Vienna.
The first bishop centered in
Pula was Antonius. It dates back to 510. – 547. year. The church also
experienced some changes, among others the breach of the entrance on the
south wall during the time of Bishop Handegis (857. – 862.). Today that
entrance is walled up, but its contours can still be seen on the south
wall of the church. At 13. a smaller chapel was built on the south side.
In 1242. during the Venetian attack, the church was partially demolished
and set on fire, and only at 15. for centuries, major repairs and
reconstructions have been made, thus adding a gothic note to the whole
building.
It received its present classicist facade in 1712., at
the time of Bishop Bottari when significant renovation works of the
basilica complex and baroque bell tower begin, which are completed in
1924. year. The freestanding bell tower was completed in 1707. year.
Unfortunately, it was built mostly of stone blocks taken from the
amphitheatre. Next to the bell tower was a baptistery built at 5. st.,
and demolished in 1885. year. The reconstruction of her appearance was
depicted in drawings by Pietro Kandler. Like Euphrasiana and her
baptistery, this one contained a hexagonal well for baptisms.
The
cathedral suffered heavy damage in the bombing of Pula in World War II,
but was reconstructed again in 1947. year.
On the north side of
the cathedral, facing the Bay of Pula, it was located until the middle
of the 19th century. the cemetery from which ten years later the remains
of those buried were transferred to the New Pula City Cemetery Monte
Ghiro. Today, the newly renovated Bishop Juraj DoBrila park is located
on the site.
Under the main altar of the pula cathedral there are 5 sarcophagi that have preserved the bones of saints for centuries, which marked the era in which they lived. The sarcophagi keep the bones, but also the secrets of the following Saints: St. Jurja, sv. Theodora, STs. Dimitrija, sv. Basil, STs. Flora and bl. Solomon, the former king of Hungary. They were originally found in the Cathedral Chapel of Bishop Ursini by Bishop Aloysius Marcello of Pula in 1675. year. In addition to these bones, Bishop Aloysius Marcello found a record of Bishop Ursini testifying that he was in 1487. dedicated an altar in honor of the mentioned Saints. There are many theories about Saints who Rest in Pula Cathedral. Some historians believe that St. Theodore, STs. Juraj, sv. Dimitrije I sv. Basil St. Theodore of Euchaida, STs. Juraj of Cappadocia, sv. Dimitrije of Syrmia and sv. Basil The Great of Cappadocia. However, these are only speculations about which there is no historical evidence. Only with certainty can the origin of bl be confirmed. Solomon and St. Flora.