The old seaport of Piran lies at the end of the Piran peninsula, which gradually narrows between the bays of Strunjan and Piran. The peninsula reaches Cape Madona, ending with the Šavrini hills.
The meaning of the name Piran: elder scientists support the supposition that the origin could derive from the Celtic word bior-dun, supposed to mean a settlement on the hill, while younger generation advocates the explanation of the Greek word pyr – fire, as the original settlement was primarily used as a lighthouse for vessels sailing to nearby Greek colony Aegida on the site of today town Koper. The town has preserved the medieval layout with narrow streets and compact houses, which rise in steps from the coastal lowland into the hills and give the whole area a typical Mediterranean look.

Today the town is an administrative and trade centre, and together with Portorož, is also an important tourist location with many cultural institutions, vacation homes, hotels, restaurants and various events. It is also certain that the town itself with its interesting layout and cultural heritage attracts many visitors.

The first reliable information comes from Anonymus of Ravenna, who in the 7th Century in his work Cosmographia mentioned the name Piranon (Piran) among the names of Roman towns on the Istrian coast. Although the origin of the name is still veiled in mystery, there is no doubt whatsoever that already in the pre-Roman era those hills were inhabited by the Illyrian Histri tribes, who were farmers, hunters, fishermen and pirates, and disrupted the Roman trade in the north Adriatic Sea.

Clonisation and romanisation of theIstrian peninsula

With the Roman conquest of the Istrian peninsula in the years 178 and 177 B.C., gradual colonisation and romanisation of the peninsula began. This is how the Roman “ville rusticae” were built in the hinterland of Piran, but probably there was still no major inhabitation of this area at that time. It began only after the downfall of the Roman empire in the 5th Century, when because of the incursions and migrations of the barbaric tribes, the Roman population retreated to fortified coastal towns or islands.

In the 7th Century, under the Byzantine rule Piran became a heavily fortified “Castrum”, and that started the urban development. Already at the end of the 6th Century a wave of savage assaults by the Obers and Slavs hit the area; those events were followed by a gradual Slav colonisation, which gained in impetus after the Franks conquered Istria in the year 788. The Franks included Istria in the Mark of Furlany administrative unit and supported the Slavs in their struggle for political and economic independence from the Roman town populace. After the division of the Frankish empire, the County of Istria was included into the Italic kingdom in the year 843, in the year 952 became a part of Holy Roman Empire of German Nation, in particular to the Dukedom of Bavaria, in the year 976 to the Dukedom of Carinthia and at last to the Aquilean Patriarchy.

Due to the gradual acquisition of new land and the possibilities for developing free sea trade, the town lying on the Istrian coast, including Piran, tried to gain more independence from their feudal lords and found an ally in the Venetian Republic, which from the 10th Century onwards was rapidly becoming a major trading and sea power in the Adriatic. The Venetian advance on the eastern Istrian coasts, became decisive for the development of the Istrian towns, as Venice was searching for new markets and outposts for its drive to the central and southern Adriatic. Progressively the Venetian Republic subdued the coastal towns, but nevertheless they first made friendship and trade agreements. Piran was also taken under the Venetian “protection”, and in exchange the town was obliged to sign a trade contract in the year 933. Very soon the Piran townsfolk realised that the arrangement with Venice limited their freedom and independence; because of that Piran searched for a way out, and found it in an alliance with other small towns, especially Koper, as well as in the strengthening of its own autonomy.

The economic boom, which was brought to the Istrian towns by the sea and hinterland trade, made it possible for some of the towns to gain autonomy and become free municipalities with an elected governing body already at the end of the 12th Century: Piran in the year 1192. These towns chose their own officials – podestas – and made their own trade deals with other towns.

But already in the second half of the 13th Century the Venetian Republic commenced with the conquest of the Istrian towns and thus occupied Koper in the year 1279, a year later Izola, and in the year 1283 Piran.

 

From the 15th until 17th Century, Piran was shaken by the social strife between the aristocracy and the plebs, who rebelled and expressed their dissatisfaction with the fact that public funds were controlled exclusively by the aristocracy, ownership issues over the salt pans and the arable land in hinterland, as well as the political rights they wanted to obtain.

Eventually Protestantism spread in Istria, and appeared in Piran in the thirties of the 16th Century.

17th and 18th Century

In the 17th and 18th Century the Piran society still lived in the cultural atmosphere of Humanism and Renaissance, joined in the 17th Century by doctor Prospero Petronio.

A decade later (1692) Giuseppe Tartini was born, a violinist, composer and music pedagogue, who wrote over 300 compositions, many of which belong to the finest musical creations of the 18th Century.

Austrian occupation in the years 1797 until 1805, and a shorter period of French rule under the guise of the Italian Kingdom (1805 - 1809) and Napoleonic Illyrian Provinces (1809 - 1813), introduced a few minor urban interventions in the town and its surroundings, as well as administrative, social and political changes.

Imperial Austria brought prosperity back to Piran in the 19th Century. It was chiefly aide by the salt pans, as Austria renewed and enhanced the production by substantially enlarging the salt pans in Sečovlje, which yielded approximately 40,000 tons of salt per year.

Development of tourism

The narrow gauge railroad , which led from Triest to Poreč, greatly boosted the transport of people and merchandise. At the enfd of the 19th Century the development of tourism began together with the improved traffic connections. In Portorož especially health resort tourism began to develop, and brought it fame and reputation as the most pleasant and beautiful tourist centre in the east Adriatic, mainly due to its climate.

After World War I, this area was assigned to Italy by the Rapallo peace agreement. The anti fascist movement grew among the Slovene inland population, as well as the Italian townspeople, to culminate in the War of National Liberation in the years 1941 – 1945.

Tartini Square became the central square of Piran at the end of the 13th Century, but acquired its present appearance only in the second half of the 19th Century. By filling the inner harbour, a spacious square area was obtained, around which all the important municipal buildings were constructed (Town Hall and Court Palace), as well as burgher houses of which only the gothic Venetian House is preserved in the original. The square was named after the well-known Piran local violonist and composer Guiseppe Tartini (1692 - 1770), who made the name of his birthplace known throughout Europe. The town, a collection of sculptures, portals and other artefacts, of secular and church art, holds a peculiarity: a collection of modern sculptures under the open sky on the Seča peninsula, just in front of Portorož. The international Sculptor Symposium Forma Viva was founded in the year 1961 upon a solicitation of the Slovene artists Jakob Savinšek and Janez Lenassi. The Coastal Galleries still traditionally organise it until the present time.