We had tried to reach Piran in 2019, during our excursion on the Parenzana part of Croatia. It had been impossible for the tourist mass to be able to stop and have a look, also due to the fact that you have to park considerably outside the city and we didn’t have much time.
Piran seen from the walls
But from above it was clear that it had to be very beautiful, and therefore, on the occasion of our anniversary in July, and taking advantage of an international relaxation of the Covid regulations, we managed to do 4 days in this seaside city, permeated by Venetian influences and Austro-Hungarian in its architectural structure.
Tartini Square in Piran The last tower towards the sea of the Marcian walls With those black glasses, boh in my opinion Cri does not see anything!
Climbing the hill overlooking Piran, we encountered the entrance to visit a part of the defense walls. Piran had more walls and the first ones date back to the 7th century. Those where we walked are the most recent, called Marcian (from San Marco) and built from the end of 1440 and finished at the beginning of 1500. They closed the city towards the hill in order to defend it from possible Saracen raids from the mainland.
Piran from the walls Tartini square The last tower View from the last tower towards Strunjan and further down Trieste
The walk on the walls is very panoramic and you will find remarkable photographic glimpses of both the city and the sea, as the outermost tower is overlooking the sea. Fun to climb the stairs of the towers, paying close attention to the head. Pumpkins are the order of the day, so much so that every now and then, even from other visitors, you could hear the dull thud of a head beating on the ceiling of the staircase. Ouch ouch!
Piran was under the dominion of Venice for more than 500 years, until 1797, the year of the fall of the Serenissima. Until 1918 it remained Austro-Hungarian, but from 1918 to 1954 it remained under Italian influence, although after 1945 it was zone B, that is to say a Yugoslav military presence. Following the complete assignment to the federation of Yugoslavia, there was a migration and practically a replacement of the population, those of Italian and Venetian origins left for an exodus to Italy, the mother country linguistically but not of origin. They came to replace the Italians, the Slavic populations who are still the absolute majority of the population. The few remaining Italians preserve the traditions and history of the place for the benefit of newcomers as well. Local pride is the composer and violinist Giuseppe Tartini, whose statue dominates the center of the town square.
Monument to the composer and violinist Giuseppe Tartini
Paolo
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