Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton intervened, and cooler heads prevailed—Croatia is in
the EU, and Slovenia's port is still busy.
Piran History
Piran was named for the fires (
pyr
in Greek) that were lit at the tip of its peninsula
to assist passing ships. Known as “Pirano” in
Italiano,
the town is home to a long-
standing Italian community (about 1,500 today)—so it's legally bilingual, with signs
in two languages. As with most towns on the eastern Adriatic, it has a Venetian fla-
vor. Piran wisely signed on with Venice as part of its trading empire in 933, and be-
causeofitsvaluablesaltindustryandstrongtrade,managedtoenjoysomeautonomy
in later centuries. After plagues killed most of Piran's population in the 15th century,
local Italians let Slavs fleeing the Ottomans repopulate the town. Piran's impressive
walls were built to counter the growing Ottoman threat. Too much rain ruined the
town's valuable salt basins, but in the 19th century, the Austrian Habsburg rulers re-
that change came a new economic boom, and Piran grew in importance once again.
After World War I, this part of the Habsburg Empire was assigned to Italy, but fas-
cism never sat well with the locals. After World War II, the region was made neutral,
then became part of Yugoslavia in 1956. In 1991, with the creation of Slovenia, the
Slovenes of Piran were finally independent.
Looking back to the base of Piran's peninsula, you'll get a good view of the crenellated
castle that protected this strategic location.
Sergej Mašera Maritime Museum (Pomorski Muzej Sergej Mašera)
This humble museum faces the harbor and the square, filling three floors of an elegant old
buildingwithfaintlyendearingexhibits.Thefirstfloorcontainsadarkenedroomof“under-
throughaglassfloor.Thesecondfloorisaseriesofdustyroomsonthehistoryofseafaring,
withawideassortmentofmodelships,andatownmodelthatillustrateshowtoday'sTartini
Square was once an enclosed and fortified harbor. And the top floor hosts a modern exhibit
honoring illustrious Slovenian seamen, with historical documents and uniforms. The exhib-
its are described only in Slovene and Italian, but you can borrow English descriptions for
each floor (or buy an illustrated English booklet for €0.50). While the sight ranks slightly
above average compared to the many other maritime museums along the Adriatic, I'd still
save it for a rainy day.
