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| Picture of St. George's Church on the hill from the far point of the town |
After breakfast I checked out of my Ljubljana hotel and took a public bus just about 3 hours through the mountain and valleys of Slovenia on our way to the Slovak seaside and the immensely charming town of Piran. The town is only about 12 miles from the Croatian border and about 16 miles from the Italian one and the city of Trieste. After getting off the bus and admiring the city as I walked near the town center along the marina I looked for a cafe to have lunch and use the bathroom and found a wonderful small one with lots of outdoor seating. I chose to sit in side at tables whose bases are made from old fashion sewing machines like the one my grandmother had. After a yummy prosciutto and cheese sandwich and some olives I went and found a hotel or rather a very cheap hostel about a 4 minute walk from the cafe. It's a bare bones kind of place but only 20 dollars a night and at least for tonight I don't have to share a room which is great. I don't really love hostels but for a few days it will be fine and the Alibi B14 hostel seems clean and located on one of the many adorable tiny streets.
The city is very much like Venice in the small winding streets but minus the canals. Although the Adriatic Sea that surrounds the peninsula is pretty impressive and there were so many sail boats out and about today and even a scuba diver.
I walked around town for a few hours and then had dinner at an Italian restaurant on the water and watched all the families strolling along the promenade and the tourists in awe of the beauty of this unique, quiet and simply charming town.
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| Our Lady of Health (St. Clement) Church in Piran Interior under construction |
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| Our Lady of Health (St. Clement) Church in Piran - Ceiling under construction |
"Piran (Italian: Pirano) is a town in the Municipality of Piran 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-twentieth century Italian was the dominant language, but was replaced by Slovene as populations moved.
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| Tartini Square, with a monument in memory of Giuseppe Tartini |
In the pre-Roman era, the hills in the Piran area were inhabited by Illyrian Histri tribes who were farmers, hunters and fishermen. They were also pirates who disrupted Roman trade in the north Adriatic Sea.The Piran peninsula was incorporated into the Roman Empire in 178 and 177 BC and settled in the following years with rural homes (villae rusticae).
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| St. George's Church |
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| Look closely at the boat coming into the marina and there is a fisherman in a bright yellow rubber suit and all I could think of was the Grodan's Fisherman from the commercials. |
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| Cafinh I had lunch at with sewing machine tables |
Piran was heavily influenced by the Venetian Republic and Austria-Hungary, therefore the monuments differ greatly from those in inner parts of Slovenia. The Piran town walls were constructed to protect the town from Ottoman incursions; many parts of the town walls from different eras remain, and are of interest to tourists. In the middle of the town is the Tartini Square, with a monument in memory of Giuseppe Tartini. Nearby are located various important buildings, such as Tartini’s house, first mentioned in 1384 and one of the oldest in town, the Municipal Palace, Loggia and Benečanka, among others. On the hill above the town is the biggest and most important church, the Church of Saint George, with a Franciscan monastery nearby."
