Squares

History of Tartini Square

The place where Tartini Square is located today, was once a harbour for fishing boats of Piran. The harbour used to be outside the town walls, because the oldest, partly preserved walls propagated behind the present Town Hall. The St. Peter Church stood and still stands outside, beyond the walls all alone since the year 1272. The church was restored in the year 1818. This work was entrusted to the architect Pietro Nobile, professor of the architecture department at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and a court architecture counsellor, and to one of the most important sculptors of classicism in Triest, Antonio Boso. The neo-renaissance Town Hall building was designed and built between the years 1877-1879 by Givanni Righetti (1872-1901).
Between the years 1885-1891, Giuseppe Moso in Enrico Nordio were supervising the construction of the new Court House on the western side of the square. In the year 1894 the harbour was filled in, due to bad smell, filth and for health and sanitary reasons, and a large square was built in front of the new Town Hall and Court House buildings. With the introduction of the electric railway, which connected the town with Portorož and Lucija in the years 1909 - 1953, a roundabout of oval-shaped tracks was laid on the square. The pattern of that scheme is repeated in the design of the present oval-shaped platform, made of white marble and designed by architect Boris Podrecca on occasion of 300th birth anniversary of Tartini.

Stone Flag Poles

The poles were made in the 15th Century and today they decorate the entrance to the Tartini Square Their original place was in front of the old Town Hall. On the first pole there is a relief of the winged lion of St. Mark. Underneath the Latin inscription reads as follows:"GAZE AT THE WINGED LION, WHICH GRASPS TERRITORIES, SEAS AND STARS". On the right side there are the coat of arms of the old Piran and a Latin inscription: "TO YOU, SEGREDO LUDOVICO, JUST PROTECTOR, IN HONOUR". On the left side of the pole there is the coat of arms of the Piran municipality, and underit are engraved the length measures: PER pertica cca. 232 cm, PAS pasus cca. 190 cm, BRAZ viola cca. 68 cm, MAZ cca. 158 cm, STRO cca. 120 cm. On special occasions the Venetian flag used to be raised on this pillars. In the middle of the second pole there is a relief of St. George, the town protector, on the horse. Underneath there is a Latin inscription: "WITH OUR PRAYERS, YOU REMAIN SAFE, THE LAND OF PIRAN". On the right side of the pole, there is a chicken leg, the coat of arms of the Malipiero family. On the left side of the pole there is an unknown coat of arms.. The town flag (a red cross on a field of white – the symbol of St. George) used to be raised there.

1st of May Square

The 1st of May Square or the Old Square (Piazza Vecchia), as it was first named, is the centre of the old Punta. The main streets of Piran meet there. Inhabitants and visitors come here for shopping or a glass of native red wine. The square is a favourite meeting place for children. In the summer months many musical, dance and theatre performances are held in the centre of the square. The Old Square used to be the administrative centre of the town until the 13th Century. There stood the old municipal building, today the restaurant Delfin is in its place. The St. Donat Church, built in the first half of the 14th Century(1325), is still preserved. Its interior is used as a sales gallery. In the centre of the square there is a stone rainwater cistern, which was built after a severe draught in the year 1775. At the back of the cistern there are the statues of two babies, one holding a fish and the other a pot. Gutters were connected to this statues from the surrounding roofs. The water running through the stone blocks, gravel and sand was stored clean in the cistern. In the middle of the square there are two smaller wells, which were used for cleaning the big one. Water was pumped out with a hand pump, which is still preserved. The stairs leading onto square are decorated with two allegorical statues of Law and Justice. On the shield of Law there are data about the well: date, description of purpose, name of citizens who contributed to construction. On the shield of Justice there are: town coat of arms, Marcello family coat of arms, Bemba family coat of arms.