Featured image: Visualia Festival Pula illuminates the Arch of the Sergii/Visualia Festival Pula screenshot
Pula will become a large open-air gallery this week as light installations, projections and 3D mapping displays illuminate streets, squares and historic buildings across the city.
The Visualia Festival Pula takes place from September 17 to 19, bringing 23 works to 16 locations. Installations will be open from 8 pm until midnight each evening, giving visitors three nights to follow the illuminated route through the city centre.
The programme stretches from Portarata Square and the Forum to Pula Cathedral, the Small Roman Theatre, Kaštel and Monte Zaro.
Pula’s landmarks become part of the show
Some of Pula’s best-known public spaces and historic buildings will serve as backdrops for this year’s projections.
At the Forum, visitors can see the 360-degree projection Chromaflora, while the 3D mapping work A Butterfly Flapping Its Wings will be shown at 9 pm and 10 pm.
The programme around Pula Cathedral includes Magic Garden and Perpetuum, the latter recognised with an International Light Festivals Organisation award in 2025.
Other installations will appear at the Archaeological Museum of Istria, the Historical and Maritime Museum of Istria at Kaštel, the City Gallery and the Small Roman Theatre.
Light art spreads across 16 locations
The festival route begins around Portarata Square, where the opening ceremony, a light performance and the projection Fractions are scheduled. A large illuminated Astronaut will be placed nearby at Dante Square.
Titov Park will host Bird Songs and In a City of Flowers, while visitors heading towards Monte Zaro can see the 3D mapping work Stars, the projection How You See Me? and the installation The Scientist.
The Student Centre will host regular presentations of The Icebook, with displays scheduled every 30 minutes.
With works spread across the centre, the Visualia Festival Pula is designed as an evening walk rather than an event confined to a single venue. Visitors can use the official festival map to plan a route or simply encounter the installations while exploring the city.
Artworks carrying messages of peace
Several pieces in this year’s programme explore war, peace and the ways people experience conflict.
Walking Towards Peace will be projected onto Hotel Amfiteatar, while Voice of Ukraine will transform the Archaeological Museum of Istria through 3D mapping. The City Gallery will host Stairs Between Wars and Identity.
The works form part of a broader programme connecting Visualia with light festivals in Brixen, Copenhagen, Essen and Oslo through the European Imagine Peace project. The initiative brings artists, festivals and researchers together to explore peace, sustainability and international cooperation through light art.
When to visit Visualia Festival Pula
The festival runs from Thursday, September 17 to Saturday, September 19. Installations can be seen between 8 pm and midnight each evening.
The complete programme and a map showing all 23 works are available on the official Visualia Festival website.
