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Te surrounding area of Poreč was inhabited already in prehistoric times, which is testifed by the many hill-forts (Picugi). Te town started developing in the 1st c. BC, when it became a Roman colony. On the fertile land of the surrounding countryside, where famed olive oil and wine were produced, magnifcent Roman villas are built. Te urban plan of Poreč is de-fned by the pattern of Roman military camps, in the layout of the streets, crossing each other at right angles and forming regular town blocks. In spite of medieval and Baroque reconstructions, such a grid plan is even today visible in the direction of streets. Te ancient Forum was situated on the westernmost point of the peninsula, and next to it was the Capitolium with temples. Te remains of the Temple of Neptune and probably the Temple of Mars testify to the construc-tion commissioned in the 2nd c. by the vice-admiral of the Ravenna feet, Titus Abudius Verus. Te complex of the Euphrasian Basilica gradually developed from the 4th c. onwards, on the site of a house where the frst worshippers met, situated by the northern town gate. In the following century it grew into a complex of basilica gemina dedicated to the Virgin Mary and St. Maurus, Bishop of Poreč and martyr from the 3rd c., decorated with splendid mosaics, with octagonal baptistery and atrium. To display the power of the Church after Justinian’s conquest of the Adriatic areas in the mid-6th c., on the site of the southern basilica Bishop Euphrasius com-missioned the building of a new three-aisled church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, luxuriously decorated with columns and altar screens of Proconnesus marble, stucco decoration and gold mosaics. Proud of this magnifcent project, he had his portrait made on the mosaic in the apse by the Virgin Enthroned with Child and St. Maurus. Te basilica and baptistery are connected by the atrium with arches supported by columns with Byzantine basket capitals. Somewhat later a triple-apsed votive chapel was constructed next to the sanctuary of the Euphrasiana, where in 1247 a marble sarcophagus with the remains of St. Maurus was placed. Bishop Euphrasius also commissioned the building of the Bishop’s Palace by the basilica, with impressive audience hall on the frst foor. Tis palace was the seat of the Poreč bishops until the 1990s when they left it because of extensive restoration work. In spite of numerous later alterations, the complex has remained within its preserved basic dimensions defned in the 5th and 6th cc. In 1997 this gem of cultural heritage was inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

St. Tomas’s Church from the 5th c., remains of which are preserved within the complex of the Istrian Parliament Building, was also decorated with multi-colored mosaics.

In the Middle Ages, Poreč bishops were among the most powerful Istrian feudal lords, with possessions spreading all the way to Lim Channel. Te number of preserved houses from the Romanesque period is astonishing, such as the Canon’s House within the Euphrasian Basilica complex from 1251 with a wooden balcony on the upper foor, as well as a number of smaller houses in the narrow streets. Many palaces were later built on the remains of Romanesque houses, thus preserving the urban pattern inherited from Antiquity.

In 1297 the town swore its loyalty to Venice and became an important port on the Adriatic route, especially because of the export of agricultural produce. However, the medieval town walls did not save it from being plundered by the Genoese in 1354 when the holy relics of St. Maurus were stolen from the Euphrasian Basilica (not returned until 1934). After that, the Pentagonal Tower at the town entrance was renovated in the 15th c., and on the northern and western corners round Renaissance towers were built.

During the 15th and 16th cc. epidemics of the plague devastated the population, so Venice set-tled refugees from Dalmatia, Albania and Greece. In spite of hard times, luxurious Late Gothic palaces sprang up in town, as well as Renaissance palaces decorated with ornate, sculpted archi-tectural details. In the spirit of humanistic aspirations, citizens resort to the use of artifacts from earlier historic periods, so that the popular Renaissance House of Two Saints was decorated with Romanesque fgures of saints.

In the Baroque, the restricted medieval core underwent transformation with the construction of larger complexes with inner courtyards. Representative palace facades now looked onto the street, whereas aristocratic salons were decorated with mural paintings and stucco work (Sinčić Palace, Vergotini Palace complex, new wing of the Bishop’s Palace).

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HISToRIC URBAn CoReS