PIRAN – PORTOROŽ
Piran is a town in…
PIRAN
Piran is a town in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. The town has much medieval architecture, with narrow streets and compact houses. Piran is the administrative centre of the local area and one of Slovenia’s major tourist attractions. Until the mid-20th century, Italian was the dominant language, but was replaced by Slovene as demographics shifted.
Piran is the birthplace of composer and violinist Giuseppe Tartini, who played an important role in shaping its cultural heritage. The town’s main square, Tartini Square (Slovene: Tartinijev trg, Italian: Piazza Tartini), is named after him. In 1892, the 200th anniversary of his birth, a monument to Tartini was erected in Piran. Venetian artist Antonio Dal Zotto was commissioned to create a larger-than-life bronze statue, which was mounted on its pedestal in 1896. The statue dominates the square, overlooked by the Cathedral of Saint George. The painter Cesare Dell’Acqua was also born in Piran. Piran is the seat of the Euro-Mediterranean University of Slovenia (EMUNI), founded in 2008 as one of the cultural projects of the Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean. The Piran Coastal Galleries, a public institution encompassing a group of six public contemporary art galleries, is based in Piran.
PORTOROŽ
Portorož (Italian: Portorose, literally “Port of Roses”), is an Adriatic-Mediterranean coastal settlement in the Municipality of Piran in southwestern Slovenia. Its modern development began in the late 19th century with the vogue for the first health resorts. In the early 20th century Portorož became one of the grandest seaside resorts in Europe, along with Abbazia, Lido and Grado, then as part of the Austrian Littoral. It is now one of Slovenia’s major tourist areas.[3] Located in the centre is the Hotel Palace, once one of the most important resorts for the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, and currently one of the finest hotels between Venice and Dubrovnik. The settlement and its surrounding areas are served by Portorož International Airport which is located in the nearby village of Sečovlje.
