In reality, as Venice became more powerful, Istria became split between Venice and Austrian domination. This lasted for more than four centuries.

The evidence of the above can be seen in the paintings of the Istrian Romanesque churches. There are many buildings that remained from the Gothic period and while walking down the stone-paved streets of Porec, Rovinj, Vrsar, Umag, Gracisce you will be able to see Gothic palaces and churches with characteristic Venetian windows; most common are “bifora” but there are also “trifora” and “quadrifora” windows.

In the heart of Istria, in the village of Beram, situated to the west of Pazin, the most remarkable Istrian frescoes can be seen in the small church of St. Mary on Skriljine.

The most famous scenes are the ones of the Dance of the Dead and the Tree Kings painted by Vincent from Kastav in 1474. In various Istrian churches you can discover a whole World of Biblical themes and scenes of everyday life painted in fresco techniques.

The part of Istria that was under the Venetian rule acquired stylistic characteristics of Serenissima, like Rovinj and many other towns on the western coast and all the way to Labin on the eastern side, while the area under the Austro Hungarian Monarchy assumed more continental Austrian style.

The Venetian Republic was defeated in 1797 and Napoleon ruled over Istria for a very short period of time. The French did not have time to bequeath their cultural achievements, but they took away most of the church treasures like they did in Italy, Spain and some other countries under their control.

Istria was not different from those other areas, but it is known that criminal acts decreased in Istria during that period.

In the 19th century, with the arrival of the Austrian Empire and later on the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, Istria experienced its Renaissance once again.

It was like going back to the glorious times of Rome, the Byzantine Empire or the Venice Republic.

Istria flourished in splendour. Especially this happened in Pula, the Brioni islands and Opatija, who, at the end of the XIXth and the beginning of the XXth century, opened their doors to the cream of European society.

The Brioni islands, thanks to a Viennese industrialist Paul Kupelwieser, became the meeting place for the industrialists and the European nobility.

Pula became the most important naval port of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and, in few decades, the town’s population grew from few hundred to almost 60000.

It became one of the cultural centres of the Empire and there were no limits on spending and investing in Pula’s development.

Interconnected fortification system was also built in and around Pula, a unique heritage from that period.

At the beginning of the 20th century, between the two World Wars, Istria was under the Italian rule and this is reflected in the architecture of that time.

The Payment System Bureau building in Pula is a typical example of the Fascist clean line architecture.

There are other buildings on Pula’s Giardini and Foro square from that period. The entire mining town of Rasa was built during the Italian rule over Istria and this is the youngest Istrian town.

After the Second World War Istria passed to Yugoslavia. The major part of the Istrian territory passed to Croatia and a lesser part to Slovenia.

The town that remained in Italy is Muggia and due to heavy bombardments many Istrian towns needed reconstruction.