Slovenia - Eastern Europe - page 678

matter; you'll be provided with homemade bread, sardine filets, and homemade fish
pâté while you wait. Ordering is easy: Ask for catch of the day, grilled and served with
fried potatoes. Simple, straightforward, and utterly delicious. If you want something
slightly richer, consider the “Neptun” fish filet, prepared with cream and pepper, but
be sure to leave room for the unforgettable chocolate mousse.
Zupanciceva 7. & 05/673-4111. Most dishes are 7 € -15 € ($8.75-$19). MC, V. Daily noon-4pm and 6pm-midnight.
EXPLORING PIRAN
Occupying a horn-shaped promontory, Piran is a rambling rabbit warren of narrow
cobblestone streets, back alleys, and squares. Small as it is, Piran is packed with detail,
and there's lots to explore even if you do nothing more than wander around looking for
emblematic references to Venice, like the famous winged lion of St. Mark you'll find on
buildings all over the city. For a full-on view of the town, start at its inland perimeter
wall on Mogoron Hill. These defensive walls are believed to date from as far back as
the 7th century, attaining their present form in the 16th century; today you can climb
up the Gothic towers and look back at the town and Piran Bay. Down below, the town's
center is marked by Tartinijev trg (Tartini Sq.), which celebrates the Piran-born vio-
linist and composer Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770), whose bronze effigy rises in the
center of this marbled public space. At the southern edge of the square is Hotel Tar-
tini, while the lovely 19th-century City Hall, the most impressive building here, is to
the north. To the south of the square is Piran Port, where hundreds of boats and yachts
are docked in the small harbor formed by a curve in the Piran promontory.
All around the square alleyways lead into a jumbled web of fascinating back streets;
facing the square from the northeast is the red facade of the lovely old Venetian
House, which marks one of the many narrow streets leading up to Piran's quaint tan-
gle of churches, including the lovely Minorite Convent and its early-14th-century
Church of St. Francis of Assissi; in summer, concerts are held in the convent court-
yard. Along the northern wall is St. George's Church, rising above the sea-facing cliff
walls. At St. George's (undergoing long-winded restoration), you can climb the church
tower for splendid panoramas, and visit the adjacent Baptistery. Then, continuing
along Admai c eva ulica, you'll head back down to Piran's concrete bathing area, full
of tourists in summer. Continuing west, you'll reach the tip of the Piran promontory,
marked by the Punta Lighthouse and by St. Clement's Church. From the light-
house, the promenade formed by Pre s ernovo nabre z je leads back toward the Tartini
Theater at Piran Port, passing a slew of seafood restaurants in quaint Italianate houses
on the one side, and the Adriatic's Gulf of Piran on the other; all along this concrete
coast, bathers find a spot to sunbathe or dive into the warmish waters.
While there are plenty of places to stop for a drink, the most fun (and least expen-
sive) has got to be the semidingy Kantina Zizola (9am until very late), in a corner of
Tartini Square. There are a few outside tables, and inside there's a strong maritime
theme as well as a photo of Robert De Niro, who apparently stopped by here in 2004.
SHOPPING
Visit the studio of artist and artisan Marko Jezernik ( Studio S terna; Bolni s ka 8;
www.jezernik-sp.si) for some alternative reminders of your trip. Besides propagating
Piran's alternative lifestyle—“essential,” he says, “for the artist”—Marko sells satirical
paintings, quirky T-shirts, and books of textual and visual impressions of life inspired
by the perfect isolation of Piran; you can also pick up one of his idiosyncratic painted
beehive panels. As a spirited nonconformist, Marko opens when he feels like it.