Triumphal Arch of the Sergii, Pula (must see)

The Arch of the Sergii was erected in Pula shortly after the Battle of Actium, traditionally around 29–27 BC, to commemorate Sergius Lepidus, a military tribune of the 29th Legion, and other members of his prominent family. The monument was privately commissioned and financed by Salvia Postuma Sergia. She erected it after the deaths of her husband, Lucius Sergius; their son, and her brother-in-law, Gnaeus Sergius.

Inscriptions identify the three men and record their civic and military positions. Lepidus had served as an aedile in Pula and as a tribune of the 29th Legion, which was disbanded following the Battle of Actium. The monument therefore combined a family memorial with symbols of military victory, public service, and loyalty to the emerging rule of Augustus.

The town-facing façade is framed by Corinthian columns and decorated with acanthus leaves, vines, garlands, rosettes, cupids, sacrificial bulls’ skulls, and piles of weapons. Winged figures of Victory occupy the spandrels above the opening. Reliefs also show two-horse chariots driven by the celestial deities Aurora and Luna. The underside of the arch is covered with decorated coffers containing rosettes, palmettes, sphinxes, griffins, sea creatures, dolphins, and an eagle seizing a snake-a symbol associated with heroic immortality.

Statues of the honored family members originally stood above the arch but have not survived. Its refined carving and combination of Roman and Hellenistic influences later attracted the attention of Renaissance and Neoclassical artists. The monument was studied and illustrated by figures such as Michelangelo and Giovanni Battista Piranesi. Today, the Arch of the Sergii marks the entrance to Pula’s pedestrian old town, where its ancient stonework rises above a lively square filled with cafés, shops, and cultural events.