Another element that links Pula to Rome is the fact that Pula developed on seven small hills like Rome. They are all about thirty meters above sea level and their old names are: Mondipola (today named Kastanjer), Arena, Zaro, San Michele (today named Gregovica), San Martino, Monvidal and Campidoglio (today named Kastel).

Around this first circle of hills Pula has another circle of hills named: Monte Ghiro, Monte San Giorgio, Monte Rizzi, Monte Magno, Monte Corneole, Monte Cane’ and Monte Grande.

Another interesting fact is that at the time Pula was also named Pola Pietas Julia. It is assumed that Pula got this name from Octavius, later on Emperor Augustus, when he donated the town to his soldiers.

Pietas was the sign of mercy towards the town that sided with Caeser’s killers and Julia was in honour of Caeser’s name. Some other assumptions consider that Pula was named Pietas Julia Pola in 68 AD when the Julius – Claudius family was extinguished.

During the Roman Empire there were many important Roman families in Pula like: Sergi, Crassi, Flavi, Costantini. Cenide, the Emperor Vespasiano’s girlfriend, was also from Pula. It seems that Traiano chose Pula as his headquarters for military expeditions towards the east.

It is known that in the 1st century the mother of Emperor Claudio and the daughter of Marc Antonio came to live in Pula. The son of Emperor Costantino the Great, Crispo, was also  in Medulin at the beginning of the 4th century.

Most of the villae rusticae around Pula: on the Brioni islands, in Valbandon, in Fazana and in Medulin were owned by people linked to the Emperor’s family and some of them were owned directly by the Emperor’s family.

During the 2nd century Pula was also named “Colonia Julia Pola Pollentia Herculanea”. Herculanea was linked with the cult of Hercules that at the time was the town patron. Pollentia is assumed to be linked to the further colonisation of Pula by Vespasianus at the end of the 1st century.

At the time the agricultural land under Pula’s jurisdiction spread all the way from Lim Bay on the west to the river Rasa on the east coast. Olive groves and vineyards were intensively tilled which is testified by the numerous villae rusticae findings all around Pula. Fishing was also highly developed.

Fazana had an important pottery work shop that produced amphorae, vases and other kinds of pottery vases which served for the transportation of grain, olive oil, wine, and conserved or salted fish.

Pula was built on the basis of traditional Roman urban ideas. While the Roman military camp, castrum, was built on the hilltop, the civilian buildings began to be built in an elliptical perimeter around the hill down to the sea coast.

The town was built according to a system of symmetrical town blocs, also named “insulas”. These formed a row of streets which spread out radially from the hilltop to the lower part of the town. Transversally they were linked by a number of concentric roads.

On the slopes of Pula’s hills the Romans built a number of luxurious villas for prominent families. The entire town was surrounded by defence walls and part of them, in the eastern part of the town, have been preserved until today.

Three town gates from the Roman period have also been preserved: Twin gates, Hercules’ gate and Golden gate.

The migration of diverse populations and the invasions of barbarian tribes across the Roman Empire were not reflected in the life of Pula because these large European movements and the frequent wars took place more to the north. Due to these factors Pula remained an important Roman settlement until the end of the 5th century.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, in 476, Pula was briefly under the rule of the Goths and soon after, during the thirties of the 6th century, the Byzantine Emperor Justin undertook a military campaign against the Goths in order to liberate the western regions.

Blizar, Justin’s famous military leader, disembarked with his army in Pula in 544. Later on, for over two centuries, Pula and Istria became part of the Byzantine Empire. At the time Pula and Istria were administratively part of Ravenna.

Following the destiny of the whole of Istria, at the end of the 8th century Pula became part of the Frankish Kingdom. From 751 until 774 Pula was occupied by the Longobards and in 788 the soldiers of Charlemagne occupied Istria.