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Pola

The headquarters of the Austrian navy was at the fortress of Pola, the key of the whole Northern Adriatic, which juts out into the sea on the tip of Istria, and menaces a large stretch of Italian coast including Venice on the one hand and Anconn on the other. Though much reduced, was once more rising into prosperity, having been made a strong fortress (the "Sebastopol of the Adriatic") and the naval arsenal and dockyard of Austria. It possessed splendid remains of antiquity.

The chief military port of the monarchy is Pola, which is surrounded with strong fortifications both on its sea front and on its land side, and is also provided with a Noyan. The possession of Pola is of the greatest importance to the monarchy. Its favorable location offers a safe anchorage to the biggest ships, and marks the place as a haven of the first class. Because of the great dock-yards, where all the shipbuilding and other works pertaining to the navy are done, and because of the storage of all kinds of naval supplies in the enormous arsenals, this port has been elevated by Austria to occupy the central position of all affairs relating to the navy, and its loss would be almost equivalent to the crippling of the fleet.

Pola attained fresh importance since the Austrian government made it a naval station. Its harbor was safe, and said to be large enough for the whole British navy. It was also easily accessible, and is approached by narrow channels, which in time of war were protected by torpedoes. There were numerous detached forts on all the heights around, and batteries on the island of Scoglio Grande, which command the entrance, crossing their fire with others along the shore. A capacious Basin and Docks had been made, partly by an American engineer (Gilbert), furnished with building-slips, into which vessels were raised by hydraulic machinery.

Pola is a maritime town in the peninsula of Istria, on the Adriatic Sea, 55 miles south of Trieste. It is a fortified town of the first rank, and formerly the chief station of the Austro-Hungarian navy. It was once a place of importance; but it had sunk to the level of a mere fishing village when the Austrian government (1855) selected it as their chief naval station and by the construction of dockyards, an arsenal, barracks and other government establishments infused new life into it. In 1854, at the age of twenty-two, the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph was appointed commander-in-chief of the imperial navy. The next year he began the construction of the great naval station and arsenal at ancient Pola.

The entrance to the harbor is narrow, but the water is deep, and with it expands into a basin, landlocked and safe, and large enough to accommodate the largest fleet. Forts and batteries on hills forming the background protect the harbor. Among the ancient remains are the ruins of an amphitheatre, estimated to have been large enough to accommodate 18,000 persons; there are also two temples, one of which is in good preservation. Pola was most flourishing in the reign of Severus, when it is said to have had a population of 30,000, and was a station of the Roman fleet. A triumphal arch, erected by Salvia Posthuma in honor of her husband Sergius Lepidus, is in a good condition, and under the name of Porta Aurea is used as a gate of the town.

The principal modern edifice is the cathedral, which dates from the 9th century. The population, which had more than doubled since 1880, was 70,145 in 1910. Two fortified towers, one on Capo Compare to the right, and the other on the Punto del Cristo to the left, defend the Canale di Pola and the harbor, which has become important since the headquarters of the Austrian navy were transferred from Venice to Pola. Its situation at the bottom of a small bay, almost land-locked, called Porto delle ïîose, varied with numerous green islands, forming a secure harbour, was exquisitely beautiful.

It is said to have been destroyed by Caesar on account of its adherence to the cause of Pompey, and to have been rebuilt by Augustus at the request of his daughter, and named after her Píelas Julia, afterwards corrupted into "Pola." In the days of Septimus Severus it possessed a population of 30,000, and its port was a station of the Roman fleet. Pola attained great prosperity under Augustus and his successors.

After the fall of the Exarchate, the Marquises of Istria lived there till 1077. In 1148 Pola was taken by the Republic of Venice. It was destroyed by the Venetians under the Doge Tiepolo in 1228. In 1230 Pola was attached to the Patriarchate of Aquileja, but purchased her independence, in 1258, for an annual sum of 2000 lire, which was never paid. The period of independence was also that of faction-fighting, between the popular party, headed by the family of lonatasi, and the patriarchal, headed by the Sergi. A great massacre took place on Good Friday, 1271, when the lonatasi put to death the whole of the Sergi, except one boy, who escaped, and afterwards returned to tyrannise over the town.

In 1331 Pola submitted to Venice, and thenceforward steadily declined. In 1378 the Genoese admiral Lucían Doria annihilated the fleet of Venice in an action off Pola, and obtained possession of it and its harbor. During their contests for supremacy the Venetians and the Genoese repeatedly destroyed the place, particularly in 1379, since when it remained little more than a ruin. By the end of the 18th century, the number of inhabitants was barely 600. So it remained, till the establishment of the Austrian dockyard and naval arsenal in 1863.

Several superb Roman buildings still exist. The Temple of Augustus and the Amphitheatre are enclosed by a railing. The "Temple of Augustus and Roma (B.C. 19), adjoining the Municipio, 27 ft. high, 51 ft. broad, with a portico of six Corinthian columns 23 ft. high, and a frieze with admirable ornamentation, is in excellent preservation. The inscription is gathered from the holes made by the nails which once secured the metal letters to the wall : Romae et Augusto Caesari Divi F(ilio) Patri Patriae. The narrow and dark celia contains a small collection of architectural fragments and inscriptions, and other Roman antiquities.

From the Porta Gemina a street leads to the N. to the Amphitheater, constructed in the time of the Antonines (A.D. 160), 79 ft. In height, 345 ft. in diameter (with room for 20,000 spectators). The enclosure, which is In excellent preservation, consists of two rows of arches (72 in all), one above the other, each 19 ft. high, while a third story contains square window-openings. Four gateways, preceded by a kind of jutting story, the object of which is not clear, lead into the interior from the four points of the compass.

To the S.W. of the Monte Zaro, in the suburb of 5. Policarpo, lies the beautiful Maximilian Park, adorned with a Monument of Ferdinand Maximilian, consisting of a column with a relief of the archduke, and ships' prows, and a goddess of fame above. Near this are several buildings connected with the dockyard (School, Barracks, Hospital, Prison). To the W., on the quay, is the imperial Naval Arsenal. A museum in the Artillery Office contains interesting ship-models, trophies, weapons, etc. The wharves and docks are on the Olive Island, between the naval and the commercial harbor.