In 1888,
magnificent preparations commenced for the celebration of the second centenary
of the birth of Giuseppe Tartini. Money for the construction and erection of
Tartini's statue in Piran was collected in Trieste, and throughout Istria and
Kvarner, Friuli and Venice. The statue was commissioned from the Venetian
academic sculptor Antonio Dal Zotto, who succeeded in making a realistic
impression of the Teacher of Nations, and the statue is known as one of Zotto’s
best artworks and one of the most important statues in Slovenia. The statue
didn't arrive in Piran until 1896. A big celebration was held and about ten
thousand people from all over the region gathered. The Istrian musician Antonio
Smareglia dedicated a hymn to Tartini, which was presented at the installation
of the statue on the square where the docks used to be.
Only a few
years ago during restoration works on the statue, a touching love note of the
Venetian sculptor to his deceased wife Ida Lessiach Nayi Dal Zotto was
discovered on a hard-to-reach spot on the edge of the bronze violin.