UNESCO World Heritage Site Chasing

“Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.”

Mark Twain (1835-1910)

Lesson Learned: Don’t bother coming to the coast of Croatia before mid April, its closed for business. We arrived on April 19 and many shops and cafés are just now opening up. Easter is a big deal in this country, so if you arrive at the coast before Spring Break you may not have a great selection of places to see. Zagreb is fine though, some things may not be in full swing, but it’s a big city and there is still a lot to see and do. Spring here appears to be a couple of weeks behind Washington DC, and the type flora found here is similar. The flora along the coast is more like Greece and Italy.

Go-Date: Day 87, Friday, April 19

We left Otočac at around 9 AM for our next stop which was a port city called Pula. Our next apartment wasn’t going to be ready until 5 PM (17:00 local time) so we had lots of time to kill. I’d read about a town 45 minutes north of Pula named Poreč that was supposed to be interesting because of a Roman amphitheater in town center. In addition, it had an old church which was on the UNESCO World Heritage list, so that cemented the idea to breeze through there on our way to Pula. It was a great decision.

Poreč is almost 2,000 years old, and is set around a harbor protected from the sea by the small island of Sveti Nikola/San Nicola (Saint Nicholas). It’s not a large place, its population is approximately 12,000. I’m beginning to get used to the idea that Alexandria is new construction compared to settlements in Eastern Europe, Greece, and Egypt.

Even though the town is 2,000 years old, the area has been inhabited since prehistoric times. During the 2nd century BCE, a Roman Castrum was built on a tiny peninsula where the town center is now. A Roman castrum (plural castra) was a building, or plot of land, used as a fortified military camp. Castrum was the term used for different sizes of camps including a large legionary fortress, smaller auxiliary forts, temporary encampments, and “marching” forts. During the reign of Emperor Augustus in the 1st century, it officially became a city and was part of the Roman colony of Colonia Iulia Parentium.

In the 3rd century the settlement had an organized Christian community with an early-Christian complex of sacral buildings. The earliest basilica contained the remains of and was dedicated to Saint Maurus of Parentium and dates back to the second half of the 4th century. The floor mosaic from its oratory, originally part of a large Roman house, is still preserved in the garden of the Euphrasian Basilica.

OK, so the town is old, and it has a rich history, which most Americans have no inkling to what it was. With the fall of the Roman empire (Western)in 476 CE, different rulers and powers governed. First, it was held by the Ostrogoths (they sound like Orcs to me) and after 539 was part of the Byzantine Empire. From 788 it was ruled by the Franks. A short independence period followed in the 12th century and later it was ruled by the Patriarchate of Aquileia. In 1267 Parenzo (the Venetian name for Poreč) became the first Istrian city that chose to become part of the Republic of Venice, whose rule lasted for more than five centuries. During this period several palaces, squares and religious buildings in Venetian style were built. In 1354 the city was destroyed by the Genoese (Republic of Genoa (c. 1100–1805), a former state in Liguria). If all this wasn’t enough, the population of Poreč was decimated by plague at the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century. After the fall of the Venetian Republic, Parenzo came under the sovereignty of the Habsburg Monarchy. I’m not sure how these people know who is ruling them or what language they should be speaking. It’s a lot like Game of Thrones.

Between 1805 and 1814, Parenzo was part of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy and then of the Illyrian Provinces. After this period it was again annexed by the Habsburgs (Austrian Empire). How they avoided being part of the British Empire I don’t know, everyone else took a bite out of
Poreč .

The Euphrasian Basilica is a Roman Catholic basilica. The episcopal complex includes the basilica itself, a sacristy, a baptistery and the bell tower of the nearby archbishop’s palace. It’s a big place.

The basilica was built, fell to ruin, got knocked down, rebuilt, fell in an earthquake and was rebuilt again. Since it is the third church to be built on the same site, it conceals previous buildings unless you look under the floors, for example the great floor mosaic of the previous basilica from the 5th century. Because of its exceptional value, it has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1997. The Basilica is also the Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Poreč-Pula.

The complex, in one form or another has been around since the first century when Christians were hunted for sport and many practitioners were hauled south to take part in the gladiator games in the Pula amphitheater. The present basilica, dedicated to Mary, was built in the sixth century during the period of Bishop Euphrasius. It was built from 553 on the site of the older basilica that had become dilapidated. All in all, it was a great trip, especially since its on the UNESCO list.

We had a great visit. Well, except for when I dropped my phone and I had to slip under the barrier, drop down about 4 feet to the original floor on the old mosaic tile, slide around a trench, retrieve my phone and scale the scaffold back to the walkway before I was seen. Mission accomplished and my phone was undamaged.

Ellen and I are suckers to visit UNESCO World Heritage sites. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This is embodied in an international treaty called the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972. So, in other words, this organization picks the best of the best sights in the world that should be protected and seen by the citizens of all countries. As of this date, there are 1,092 sites on the list.

We’ve been to a few locations and are striving to see even more during our travels. So far, Ellen and I have visited the following 39 sites on the dates noted (if Ellen and I both haven’t seen a site, it does not appear on this list):

• 4/19/19 Euphrasian Basilica in Poreč Croatia
• 4/17/19 Plitvice Lakes National Park Croatia
• 3/28/19 Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis Egypt
• 3/21/19 Cairo & Memphis Egypt
• 3/23/19 Historic Cairo Egypt
• 2/19/19 Archaeological Site of Mystras Greece
• 2/11/19 Archaeological Site of Olympia Greece
• 2/10/19 Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus Greece
• 2/9/19 Tiryns Greece
• 2/9/19 Mycenae Greece
• 2/4/19 Meteora Greece
• 2/2/19 Temple of Apollo – Delphi Greece
• 1/26/19 Athens Acropolis Greece
• 6/1/18 Everglades National Park US
• 11/1/17 Independence Hall US
• 6/1/08 Monticello and the University of Virginia US
• 6/1/97 Historic Center of Florence Italy
• 6/1/97 Venice and its Lagoon Italy
• 6/1/97 San Gimignano Italy
• 6/1/97 Historic Center of Siena Italy
• 6/1/97 Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna Italy
• 6/1/97 City of Verona Italy
• 6/1/95 Ironbridge Gorge United Kingdom
• 6/1/95 Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites United Kingdom
• 6/1/95 City of Bath United Kingdom
• 6/1/95 Frontiers of the Roman Empire United Kingdom
• 6/1/95 Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey United Kingdom
• 6/1/95 Tower of London United Kingdom
• 6/1/95 Old and New Towns of Edinburgh United Kingdom
• 6/1/95 The English Lake District United Kingdom
• 6/1/93 Mesa Verde National Park US
• 6/1/93 Olympic National Park US
• 6/1/90 Taos Pueblo US
• 6/1/85 San Antonio Missions US
• 10/1/83 Great Smoky Mountains National Park US
• 10/1/83 Statue of Liberty US
• 6/1/80 Grand Canyon National Park US
• 6/1/80 Carlsbad Caverns National Park US
• 6/1/73 Yellowstone National Park US