Piran Sights

  1. Aquarium

    About 100m south of the square along the harbour, might be small, but there's a tremendous variety of sea life packed into its two-dozen tanks

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  2. Bell Tower

    The cathedral's freestanding Bell Tower, built in 1608, was clearly modelled on the campanile of San Marco in Venice and can be climbed daily for excellent views of the town and harbour. Next to it, the octagonal 17th-century baptistery ( krstilnica ) contains altars, paintings and a Roman sarcophagus from the 2nd century later used as a baptismal font.

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  3. Cathedral of St George

    The Renaissance and baroque Cathedral of St George stands on a ridge north of Tartinijev trg above the sea. To the east runs a 200m stretch of the 15th-century town walls complete with loopholes. They once ran from the sea all the way to the harbour, and seven crenellated towers are still intact.

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  4. Church of St Clement

    Just behind Punta lighthouse, the round, serrated tower of the Church of St Clement, originally built in the 13th century but altered 500 years later, evokes the ancient beacon from which Piran got its name.

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  5. Church of St Peter

    To the east of Tartinijev trg is the Church of St Peter (1818), which contains the restored 14th-century Piran Crucifix.

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  6. Court House

    The Court House, which has two 17th-century doors, is in Tartinijev trg.

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  7. Dolphin Gate

    Behind the market north of Tartinijev trg, medieval homes have been built into an ancient defensive wall along Obzidna ulica, which passes under 15th-century Dolphin Gate.

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  8. Former Town Pharmacy

    Trg 1 Maja is surrounded by interesting baroque buildings, including the Former Town Pharmacy on the north side (now the Fontana restaurant). In the centre of the square is a large baroque cistern ( vodnjak ) that was built in the late 18th century to store fresh water; rainwater from the surrounding roofs flowed into it through the fish borne by the stone putti cherubs in two corners.

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  9. Gabrielli Palace

    Located in the Gabrielli Palace on the waterfront, is the Sergej Mašera Maritime Museum.

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  10. Minorite Monastery

    On your way up to Tartinijev trg are the Minorite Monastery with a wonderful cloister and the Church of St Francis Assisi built originally in the early 14th century but enlarged and renovated over the centuries. Inside are ceiling frescoes, a giant clam shell for donations and the Tartini family's burial plot.

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  12. Municipal Hall

    In Tartinijev trg you will find the porticoed 19th-century Municipal Hall to the south.

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  13. Parish Museum of St George

    Church plate, paintings and an unusual statue of St George slaying the dragon, with a woman curiously holding the monster by a lead, can be seen in the Parish Museum of St George attached to the Cathedral of St George. The Parish Museum contains church plate, paintings and a lapidary in the crypt.

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  14. Punta

    The historical 'point' of Piran, still has a lighthouse, but today's is small and modern.

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  15. Sergej Mašera Maritime Museum

    Located in the Gabrielli Palace on the waterfront, the Sergej Mašera Maritime Museum is named in honour of a Slovenian naval commander whose ship was blown up off the Croatian coast in WWI. The mid-19th-century palace, with its lovely moulded ceilings, parquet floors and marble staircase, is worth a visit in itself.

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  16. Statue of Giuseppe Tartini

    The nattily dressed gentleman in Tartinijev trg, an oval-shaped, marble-paved square that was the inner harbour until it was filled in 1864, is the Statue of Giuseppe Tartini (1692 - 1770), a local composer and violinist.

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  17. Tartini House

    Across from the Church of St Peter is Tartini House, the composer's birthplace and popular concert venue.

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  18. Trg 1 Maja

    Trg 1 Maja may sound like a socialist parade ground, but it was the centre of Piran until the Middle Ages, when it was called Stari trg (Old Square). The surrounding streets are a maze of pastel-coloured overhanging houses, vaulted passages and arcaded courtyards.

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  19. Venetian House

    One of Piran's most eye-catching structures is the red 15th-century Gothic Venetian House, with its tracery windows and balcony in the northeast of the square. There is a story attached to the stone relief between the two windows of a lion with a banner in its mouth and the Latin inscription Lassa pur dir above it.

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  20. Židovski trg

    Židovski trg, the centre of Jewish life in Piran in the Middle Ages, is about 100m to the northwest of Dolphin Gate.

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