Piran

	Občina Piran / Comune di Pirano
Area:	44.6 km²
Population	16,758
- males	8,109
- females	8,649
Mayor:	Tomaž Gantar
Average age:	39.28 years
Residential areas:	37.17 m²/person
- households:	6,390
- families:	4,815
Working active:
- unemployed:
Average monthly salary ():
- gross:
- net:
College/university students:	694
	Source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, census of 2002.

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For other uses, see Piran (disambiguation).

Piran (Italian: Pirano) is a town and municipality in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. The origin of the name is uncertain, with some scholars favouring derivation from the Celtic "bior-dun" (settlement on the hill), while others prefer the Greek word "pyr" (fire), a reference to the lighthouse on the tip of the peninsular^[1]

The town resembles a large open-air museum, with medieval architecture and a rich cultural heritage. Narrow streets and compact houses give the town its special charm. Piran is the administrative centre of the local area and one of Slovenia's major tourist attractions.

[edit] Demographics

The municipality has 16,758 (2002) inhabitants and covers an area of 46.6 square kilometres; the town has 4,576 (2002) inhabitants in a single square kilometre. The municipality is bilingual, both Slovene and Italian are official languages.^[2] According to the Austrian language census there were 7,379 inhabitants in 1910, 95,97% Italians and 0,09% Slovenes. In 1945.there were 5,035 citizens, 91,32% Italians and 8,54% Slovenes. In 1956. there were 3.574 inhabitants, 67,6% Slovenes and 15,5% Italians. The ethnic composition was due to the leave of Italians towards Italy and a Slovene colonization.

[edit] Location

Piran is situated at the tip of the Piran peninsula on the Gulf of Piran. It borders Croatia to the south, and the municipalities of Izola and Koper to the east and faces Italy across the Gulf of Trieste and the Adriatic Sea. The highest point, Baretovec pri Padni, is 289 metres high.^[3]

Tartini square with cathedral of St. George and port

[edit] History and culture

In the pre-Roman era, the hills in the Piran area were inhabited by the Illyrian Histri tribes. These were farmers, hunters and fishermen. They were also pirates who disrupted Roman trade in the north Adriatic Sea^[1].

The Piran peninsula was incorporated into the Roman Empire in 178 and 177 B.C. and settled in the following years with rural homes (ville rusticae). The decline of the Empire, from the 5th century AD onwards, and incursions by the Avars and Slavs at the end of the 6th century, prompted the Roman population to withdraw into easily defensible locations such as islands or peninsulas. This started local urbanisation and by the 7th century, under Byzantine rule, Piran had become heavily fortified. Despite the defences, the Franks conquered Istria in 788 and Slavs settled in the region. By 952, Piran had become a part of the Holy Roman Empire^[1].

The earliest reliable records of the area are in the 7th century work Cosmographia by an anonymous cleric of Ravenna. Here, the name "Piranon" (Piran) was referred to as a Roman town on the Istrian coast^[1].

Piran is the birthplace of composer and violinist Giuseppe Tartini, who played an important role in shaping its cultural heritage. The town's main square, Tartini Square (Slovene: Tartinijev trg, Italian: Piazza Tartini), is named after him.

In 1892, to mark the 200th anniversary of Tartini's birth, the people of Piran decided to erect a monument in his honour. Venetian artist Antonio dal Zotto was commissioned to create the larger-than-life bronze statue of the maestro, which was eventually mounted on its pedestal in 1896. The statue dominates the square, overlooked by the Cathedral of Saint George.

The municipality's festival is on October 15, which celebrates the foundation of the first naval detachment Koper in 1944. The municipality has an international airport^[4] and a marina^[5].

Piran is now the seat of the Euro-Mediterranean University (EMUNI), founded in 2008 as one of the cultural projects of the Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean.