Original subtitles

FRANCESCO: It's my first day at sea.

And it's a perfect day for sailing.

(MEN SPEAKING IN ITALIAN)

With Captain Giulio in command, there is no time to hang about.

I'm having to learn fast and it's tough work.

This is to be my life for the next three months

as we explore the great sights of the Mediterranean.

I have just left Venice on a great sea voyage,

following the trading route of my Venetian ancestors.

It will take me right across the Mediterranean Sea to Istanbul.

In the Middle Ages, every Venetian ship flew our gonfalone.

Raffa!

Grazie.

Mamma mia!

I'm a little terrified.

But if I want to be a proper member of the crew, I can't let it show.

(LAUGHING)

We are heading for Croatia.

We Venetians dominated the coast for over 600 years.

But this was long after the Romans got here.

The town of Pula was one of Ancient Rome's most impressive strongholds.

This is Black Swan. Do you read me? Over.

WOMAN ON RADIO: Marina Pula. Pronto.

FRANCESCO: The Romans took Pula in the 2nd century BC.

They filled the city with triumphal arches

and sacred temples.

But the main attraction outshines everything else.

Of all Pula's Roman remains, one stands out above the rest.

This amphitheatre is one of the largest and best preserved in the world.

Older even than the Coliseum in Roma.

For several hundred years,

people came here to watch the cruellest of all sports.

The Roman Games.

As in amphitheatres all over the empire,

gladiators fought one another and wild animals.

Underneath the amphitheatre, you can still see the dungeons.

This is where animals and prisoners waited to meet their fate

in the arena of death above.

The smell would have been awful.

Animal dung, dried blood. But above all, fear.

Nearly 2,000 years on, the long walk up is still pretty daunting.

The gladiators were the David Beckhams and Tottis of their time,

but unlike our fashion-conscious contemporaries,

these men were not fighting for gold cups or better contracts,

but for their lives.

When a gladiator fell and found his opponent's sword at his throat,

it was up to the crowd to decide if he lived or died.

The people loved it. It put power into their hands.

Just like the Emperor.

The signal for life or death was thumbs up or down.

It's strange that one of the greatest legacies

of the Roman amphitheatres today is that most everyday gesture.

Over the centuries, thousands of men and animals

were killed here in the name of entertainment.

It's 7..00 am. A new day.

Everybody's hard at work.

But there is an artistic treasure just outside Pula which I want to see.

(SPEAKING ITALIAN)

This part of Croatia is called Istria.

It has a history and culture distinct from the rest of the country.

What is the difference between Istria and all the rest of Croatia?

Istria is very good region in Croatia.

It's first region in Croatia.

-Good people, good food... -Good people, good food, good wine.

-Good wine. That is... Yeah. -Good wine. Good grappa.

-FRANCESCO: Is it here? -It's here.

-Ah... -Okay, bye-bye.

I just go to have a look.

This is the church of the Holy Mary, Mia Beram.

And it's famous for its marvellous medieval frescoes.

It is locked.

Do you know where is the key of the church? The venue's closed.

Where the key of the church?

Can you help us? Ah, okay.

I saw that there were people here.

I'm looking for the key of the church.

Because it's closed.

Key have one lady of 38...

-Can you take me there? -Yes.

-What is the name of the lady? -Sonia.

Sonia? Does she live nearby?

-It's not big, this village? -No, no. Small village.

-But it's nice. -Yes, yes.

I follow you because I don't know where it is.

I follow you.

-38? -Yes. 38.

I'm looking for the key of the chapel.

(SONIA SPEAKING ITALIAN)

Grande chiave. Big key.

Wow.

These frescoes are a window into life here in the 15th century.

They show scenes from the Bible.

But the faces, the clothes, the buildings

are those of Istria in the Middle Ages.

(SPEAKING ITALIAN)

-The bible of the poor people. -Yeah.

Ah, were they married? Uh-huh.

-Of the angel? -Yeah.

This?

They're very different from Venetian paintings of that period

and we're very near to Venice.

It's very stylish.

That one is?

-FRANCESCO: Very strong... Forte. -Yeah.

There are different people. Rich...

So everyone has to die.

Everyone, really.

(BOTH WHISPERING)

It's really beautiful.

(SPEAKING ITALIAN)

-Thank you very much. -Yeah. Bye.

(BOTH SPEAKING ITALIAN)

Time to head on south.

Captain Giulio senses a change in the wind.

The sea around Pula is full of danger.

These are shallow waters with underwater cliffs.

Strong currents and tempests can arrive without warning.

It wasn't until the 1830s that it became safer to sail here

when they built the lighthouse at Porer.

(SPEAKING ITALIAN)

I've asked Goga, the boat steward, to come and see it with me,

as she speaks Croatian.

Wow.

(ALL SPEAKING CROATIAN)

Ivo Lamesic, the lighthouse keeper,

lives here on the island with his dog.

What is the name of the dog?

(GOGA SPEAKING ITALIAN)

-LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER: Medo. -Medo. Beer.

(FRANCESCO CHUCKLING)

And he lives here?

(SPEAKING CROATIAN)

Yeah, he lives here. He has his television, the radio, his kitchen...

In the winter, he has the radiator here

and so it's the place where he is most of the time of the day.

Is it possible to see the light from the top?

(SPEAKING CROATIAN)

I follow you.

(SPEAKING CROATIAN)

-We're going up 30 metres high. -FRANCESCO: Wow.

It's quite tiring to do this job everyday.

(SPEAKING CROATIAN)

Another flight of stairs!

And this is the lamp?

(SPEAKING CROATIAN)

Is it possible to see it working?

-FRANCESCO: Wow! -Automatic.

It's automatic. When sun goes down, it automatically starts to work.

And when the sun goes up, it stops.

Oh, there is the Black Swan, eh?

Do you ever feel lonely here?

This is a very special place for him.

From when he was 10 years old, when he came first time on the sea,

he just feel that he has to live and work on the sea.

And he feels that the sea loves him also.

He feel it on his way.

We are sailing to one of the wonders of the Mediterranean.

A vast palace that is 2,000 years old.

This is the town of Split.

Once it was nothing special.

Until the day a Roman emperor chose to make it his retirement home.

Split was built by the Emperor Diocletian

in the 3rd century AD.

He was born nearby, the son of a slave.

But he rose up through the ranks of the Roman army to become Emperor.

At the end of his life, he came back here to build a palace,

which is still at the heart of the town today.

It's a great rags-to-riches story.

But the most amazing thing about Diocletian's palace today

is that, unlike any other such ruin, it's still lived in.

After Diocletian's death, the squatters moved in.

And they have never left.

Over the centuries, every last bit of space has been turned into a home.

And what we see today is a mix of Roman,

medieval and modern architecture.

In all, Diocletian's palace covers 30,000 square metres.

In places, buildings even cut into one another.

The corner of the Roman temple of Jupiter

has been swallowed into the apartment block beside it.

But apparently, the missing part hasn't disappeared.

(FRANCESCO SPEAKING CROATIAN)

(MAN SPEAKING CROATIAN)

-Francesco. -Nice to meet you. Come on in.

(LAUGHING)

Really? A part of the temple is in your house?

Look outside.

Wow, and you sleep here.

So you wake up every morning and you see...

-It's incredible. -If you just look inside

and look what I have in my living and sitting room.

It's marvellous. And how long have you been here?

-Seven years. -But how you end up here?

It's a strange story. I looking for some flat to buy and...

Really, when I look at that, I couldn't believe it.

That something like that exists.

It's incredible. You can work here and you can feel it.

-Yeah. You can... -Because you feel outside and inside.

It's like you are a part of it.

Wow. And I love this part. It's not a museum.

-FRANCESCO: It's a living temple. -Yeah.

(LAUGHING)

And if you just lie down and look, there is some... One face.

Here?

-Down? -Yeah. And firstly when they find it.

They find that four years ago.

They thought this is the face of Jupiter.

But right now, they think that's face of architect. The person who made it.

FRANCESCO: Wow, this is strange.

Yeah. I don't know, last two, maybe 300 years ago,

it was in the wall of this flat.

-The secret came out. -Yeah.

Split is a bustling city today.

But in the evening, the locals escape to the beach

and play a strange sort of ball game in the water.

Hey, Francesco!

Okay.

I'm not sure picigin will ever become an Olympic sport.

But it's a good way to let off steam before getting back on the boat.