Top 5 Celebrities who have visited Pula

1. Dante Alighieri wrote parts of his Divine Comedy in Istria. He positioned Pula in Hell on account of the horrendous consequences of the plague that struck the city during the Middle Ages.

2. Napoleon Bonaparte visited Pula as part of his empire and was thrilled by its beauty and historical monuments. The L'Arc de Triomphe in Paris was allegedly modeled on the Golden Gate in Pula, since Napoleon had spent a night in a house beside the monument. The word "Istria" is allegedly inscribed into the L'Arc de Triomphe.

3. James Joyce came to Pula in 1904 in search of employment. He found a job at the Berlitz School as an English teacher. The Irish poet, storywriter and novelist is one of the most famous 20th century writers. His bronze statue beside the Golden Gate today reminds of us of his stay in Pula.

4. Michelangelo Buonarroti, Renaissance painter, architect and poet, one of the leading and most versatile artists, immortalized the Golden Gate in Pula on one of his drawings that is kept in the Wicar Museum in Lille, France.

5. Richard I, King of England, referred to as Richard the Lionheart because of his outstanding courage, organized his journey to the Holy Land from Pula as a Knight Templar.