Church of St. Klement., Piran

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A pleasurable walk from Tartini Square along the shore towards the Punta Madonna lighthouse takes you to a beautiful Church dedicated to the one of the first Roman popes – St. Clement. The rather ancient building - dating back to the thirteenth century but with Renaissance aspects - is located between the sea and a beguiling square with benches.
Because of the dreaded plague that propagated throughout Istria in the seventeenth century, the church was renamed as Our Lady of Salvation, for the protection of Istria.
The present appearance has been formed after many renovation in the past centuries.

The semi-octagonal lighthouse attached to the front of the keeper's house, all built on the circular stone pier. Lantern apparently removed. Far from a typical lighthouse, it is simply a large light bulb with a Fresnel lens attached to the fence which surrounds the bell tower beside the keeper's house. The round bell tower is often mistaken for the lighthouse.

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At the tip of the peninsula is the Church of St. Klement and the Punta Lighthouse. I believe the taller structure in my 2nd picture is the bell tower for the church and that the structure in front of it is the lighthouse, if that's the case then it is not very tall.

The Church of St. Klement is also known as the Church of Our Lady of Health because of it's role during a plague in the 17th century. I don't believe it was open when we passed by, the guide book says it is only open during mass.

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This church (also known as Lady of Health Church) is located right at the tip of the Punta headland near the rocky bathing area. It was first mentioned in the 13th century and acquired its present day appearance after renovation works in 1773 and 1890. Because of the dreaded plague that propagated throughout Istria in the 17th century, the church was renamed as Our Lady of Health Church, as St. Mary together with St. Rocco was an intercessor against the plague.

The unusual overdone architecture of the Venetian punta lighthouse gives it the appearance of wearing a crown. That is why I call it the king of lighthouses. It is obvious from the Byzantine ( the cloverleaf in the top of each Gothic arch ) influenced architecture of this lighthouse, that it was built during the time that the Istria region was part of the Venetian empire. Did you know that the part of the Venetian empire that Marco Polo was from is part of present day Croatia ?

I believe this most fascinating lighthouse to be about 750 years old. I will provide its age as soon as I finish my research. Much recent work has been done to restore the structural integrity of this great relic. Notice the steel bars holding the sides of the windows together. Time takes its toll on even the best built structures. By the way, cerkev ( church ) of Sv. Klement is the comparitively ordinary building next to the lighthouse. A perfect day in the middle of May provided a great setting for my photos. By the way, the heavy part of the tourism season does not start until June in this part of Europe. May beckons !

Church of St. Klement.

At the very edge of Piran's penisular, this beautiful Church of St. Klement is located. It got its name after one of the popes. It dated back to 13. century, and after many renovations it got todays likeness in 1890.