Across from Venice on the other side of the Adriatic is the Istria Peninsular in the shape of a heart, spanning about 120km from north (Trieste) to south (Pula) - or roughly the same distance from Venice to Ravenna, or New York to Philadelphia. It begins from Italy's Trieste in the north, passing through Slovenia, with the huge chunk of the heart belonging to modern day Croatia. Piran is an ancient Roman town in Slovenia close to the Croatian border.
It is quite the popular tourist destination nowadays. Tourists are kept busy visiting the city wall and beautiful marina, the Municipal Palace, the breath-taking town square, and many other historic buildings and monuments. Never straying far from music, this was also the birth town of the famous Italian violinist composer Giuseppe Tartini (1692 - 1770). At that time Piran was part of the Venetian Republic so Italy lays its claim on his legacy, but Tartini was actually born into one of the most important aristocratic Piranian families. The town square is dedicated to him with a statue of him holding what I can only assume is a Baroque violin bow (not a modern French bow).
The townsfolk had been fishermen since time immemorial, and it was incorporated into the Roman empire by 178BC. The town's name probably came from the Greek word for red, or "pyrranos". So named because of the red stones found in the area, which perhaps gave rise to many of the red houses found today.
To catch Piran on a quiet day would be seeing paradise: wandering through the narrow meandering streets, exploring many of the art galleries and shops, admiring the beautiful houses and medieval architecture, and, in my case, watching the sunset over the Adriatic. It's hard to find a reason not to come back again.
Official travel guide: http://www.slovenia.info/?_ctg_kraji=2650
斯洛汶尼亞的 Piran 位於伊斯特里亞半島。這個向南伸展的半島由北面的意大利邊境城市 Trieste 開始，經過中部的斯洛汶尼亞，一直到最南尖端的克羅地亞小鎮 Piran。
Piran 是古羅馬時代的克羅地亞邊境，當天留下來的古城牆、莊嚴的皇宮、
Piran 自公元前178年起已歸屬古羅馬帝國，
幸運的我在 Piran 享受了難得的不多遊人的一天。我在小鎮狹窄的小街道漫步，
Piran 的官方旅遊網站：http://www.slovenia.
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