Town archive and library

Town archive

A lot of what makes of Piran a magic town can be found in its archives. It was in 1877 when the old municipal palace was demolished and the new (extant) one was built. In the same year older (primarily medieval) archival material was separated from new material accumulating at that time. Thus, in that year, the municipality of Piran established its own Archives as an institution that is celebrating its 130th anniversary this year.



Initially, the Archives were called Archivio civico antico or Old Town Archives and were a department of the Municipal Library. The first archivist entrusted to take care of the Piran archives was Count Stefano Rota. In 1891 he was replaced by Prof. Domenico Vatta, who successfully ran the Archives for a series of years. While the archives of Izola were destroyed by fire in 1903 and a part of the older archives of Koper was taken to Italy during World War II, the merit that the archives of Piran stayed at home in Piran should be attributed to the town’s teacher and librarian Domenico Petronio. He managed to save the material by ordering that the archives kept in Piran at that time be hidden, walled in, beneath the staircase of the municipal palace. In the past the Archives of Piran were relocated and thus changed their home several times: from the municipal palace, to the loggia, to the court building. In 1954 they became a part of the Municipal (today the Maritime) Museum while a year later the municipal people’s council established the autonomous Municipal Archives. Following a decree issued by the Municipal Assembly of Piran in 1974 the archives were annexed by the Regional Archives Koper yet under the condition that the archival material would remain in Piran. A year later the archives were moved to the premises of the Minorite Monastery where they remained until 1995 when they found their home in the restored premises at Župančič Street 4. Numerous relocations certainly could not have had a positive effect on the archival material. Hence, because of their priceless value these jewels of Piran should be kept in the most appropriate premises under the best possible conditions.

Jewels of the archives of Piran

The priceless and diverse material kept at the Archives of Piran reaches back into the year 1173 or 1187 (the two transcriptions of the oldest documents are dated into the years 1036 and 1041). It speaks about the past of Piran and its people, the town’s hinterland, a major part of Istria, and last but not least the role of Piran within the European space. The Archives of Piran are the custodian of numerous parchment notary documents, ducal letters, testaments, codes (municipal statutes, vicedominus books, notary books, etc.) that represent a rich source for studies made by historians, ethnographers, art historians, and linguists, among others. It should be mentioned that the oldest original and entirely preserved municipal statute dates back to the year 1307. In addition, the Archives of Piran keep a variety of material from the Venetian, French, Austrian, Italian, and post-war periods. Here we can also find the material of different liquidated companies (the mine Rudnik Sečovlje, the shipyard Ladjedelnica Piran, the factory Jadranka Piran, etc.), numerous schools, the court, some important families (Tartini, Gabrielli, etc.), collections, plans, posters, and photos.

Numerous Slovene and foreign researchers (from Italy, Croatia, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, USA, etc.) have used the rich Archives of Piran as a source for writing their history books, treatises, papers, degree theses, doctoral dissertations, and preparing interesting exhibitions. The information provided by the old and diverse archival material was also used for the production of numerous TV and radio documentaries: presenting to the broader public helps bring the “dead” archival material to life. One of the two stone flag pillars at the entrance into Tartini Square bears an engraved inscription, meaning: “With our prayers, you remain safe, the land of Piran.” Today we can enthusiastically say that a part of this land is the Archives of Piran, the pride of our ancestors, our own, and undoubtedly the pride of our sons and daughters because the archives are the identity card and soul of the town.

www.arhiv-koper.si

Town Library

In Piran there exists a long tradition of public libraries. In the 17th Century the Accademia degli Intricati had founded a small public library. And it has evolved continuously ever since. The town library commenced to gain the present profile in the year 1956. Readers can choose from a treasure of over 60000 books in Slovene, Italian, English, German and French languages. The rarities are not kept at the library, but instead you can obtain items from a vast ethnological collection of material pertaining to Piran, as there is a special division dedicated to that scope. The books are being lent also to transitory visitors of the town.

Informations:
Tartinijev trg Piran
SI-6330 Piran

P: +386 (0) 5 671 08 70
E: kniznica.piran@guest.arnes.si
www.pir.sik.si/