| Page Views: 139 Last Visit to Piran: August, 2008 | Piran - The ancient town by csordila - last update: Sep 16, 2008 |
An ancient coastal town with a picturesque old town core, has preserved the medieval layout with narrow streets and compact houses, which rise in steps from the coastal lowland into the hills and give the whole area a typical Mediterranean look. Of all the towns on the Slovene coast, Piran as a whole has the most original town architecture, with a partly preserved town wall with seven mighty towers, a symbol of the past power and pride of the city.
The town square, ironic in the fact that it is actually a large oval of polished white marble, is perhaps the town’s most distinctive feature, visible in every high altitude photo of the town in books and on post cards.
The square itself is perhaps the widest open space in the town, especially compared to some of the extremely narrow medieval streets which measured at most four feet in width in some of the older parts of the town. In the centre of the square stands the larger-than-life bronze statue of the famous son of the city, Maestro Tartini, with violin in hand.
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| Restaurants and shops along waterfront |
|  | The lighthouse for vessels The original settlement was primarily used as a lighthouse for vessels sailing to nearby Greek colony Aegida on the site of today town Koper.
The Roman and the following Byzantine rule transformed Piran, giving rise to the modern day urban structure.
Fighting to assert its trade rights and autonomy, Piran freed itself from feudal powers, allying itself with the powerful Republic of Venice. Subjugated to the Republic of Venice for over five centuries, Piran flourished economically and culturally, cultivating an aristocracy influenced by Humanism and the Renaissance. |
| | Cape of Piran Piran is built on a long, narrow peninsula surrounded on almost every side by boulders. The wonderful panorama of the peninsula from the east offers a view of the Cape of Piran stretching far into the sea. To the left, the coast continues to Portoroz and its marina and the Seca peninsula where you can visit the oldest open-air Forma Viva sculpture park in Europe. Most of the areas you can admire are nature reserves.
By the way, the stack of guide books I have are a poor substitute for the real car free town. |
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| Pros: | "Surpassed all of my expectations" | | Cons: | "Surrounded on almost every side by boulders" | | In A Nutshell: | "Hope to visit Piran again some day" |
csordila's Piran Travel Tips
 Comments for csordila about Piran | | | | |
starship Sun Jun 14, 2009 01:13 UTC
Lazlo, this is an excellent page! Beautiful architecture, great climate and interesting things to see & do--I'd like to visit Piran especially to see the Venetian Woman's House!! Sylvia | Nemorino Fri Mar 13, 2009 00:11 UTC
Piran looks like an attractive destination. I'm sure I would like the Tartini Museum and the house with the "Lasa pur dir" inscription. And of course I'm glad to hear that cars are not allowed in the old town. | Arkeolog Sat Feb 28, 2009 22:08 UTC
I like Piran in your way. thanks for sharing. bora | Faiza-Ifrah Tue Nov 25, 2008 01:06 UTC
extremely nice and very informative page. i really liked watching your pictures - they are superb quality and the effect of putting them on VT is exceptionally brilliant :-) the kid seems to be really enjoying :-) |
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