Tartini's square, Piran

This wide oval square is the center of the city, with the best buildings around it, and with the other attractions at short distance in all directions.

Its placed was formerly occupied by the port, but the bad smells that affected town hall, built in 1872, and sanitary reasons, justified that, in 1984, it was filled in, building the large square.

In 1896, a monument celebrating Guiseppe Tartini, a famous violinist born 200 years before in Piran, was erected in the centre of the square, by the venetian artist Antonio del Zotto.

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Photo 1: Cerkev sv. Petra (St Peter’s Church) was first built in 1272 on a place that was outside the city walls of that period. The church that we can see today was built in 1818 in an academic and classic style.

Photo 2 shows the Church in its environment, with the city wall in the background, on top of the hill.

Photo 3: The carving on top of the entrance represents St. Peter being given the keys.

The Court House is the second most imposing building of Tartini square, after the Town Hall. The “new” Court house was built between 1885 and 1891 on the western side of Tartini square in a neo-classical style. It has three monumental entrances. The one on the right is a blind entrance. Only the main entrance and the left entrance have wooden doors. I have read in several documents :“it has two 17th-century doors”. That would mean that these two doors were taken from a previous building. It is difficult to believe and I have not found any document to substantiate this saying.

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Photo 1 shows the east and south sides of Tartini square. On the left of the photo stands Saint Peter’s Church. On top of the hill, parts of the city wall are clearly seen.

Photo 2 shows in the middle of the photo a half hidden Venetian house.

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Photo 1: In the middle of Tartini square stands the statue of Tartini, the great man of Piran.. Giuseppe Tartini was a compositor and violinist, born in 1692 in Pirano, then a part of the Republic of Venice. He lived most of his life in Padua (at that time also a part of the Republic of Venice), where he died in 1770. He wrote several theoretical books about music. He wrote 130 violin concertos, 150 violin sonatas and other. Among his most famous achievements are:
- The Devil's Trill Sonata
- Didone abandonata Sonata
- L'arte dell'arco (50 Variations on a gavotte by Arcangelo Corelli.

Photo 2 shows Tartini’s birth house where there is now a small memorial.

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Photo 1 shows the central part (north-East) of Tartini square, the heart of the town, with on the left the pink Venetian house (see other tip)

Photo 2 shows the central part (North West) of Tartini Square with the statue of Tartini in the middle, the Venetian house on the right and the town Hall on the left.

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Photo 1 shows the very bottom of the bay on the left. It is shallow and only very small boats can anchor along the quay. In the near background, the beginning of Tartiniev Trg (Tartini Square) (south western part). In the middle of the photo, the building with three arches is the narrow side of the Court House ; the front is on Tartini square (see Court House tip). In the far background Saint George church and the Baptistery of St. John the Baptist (sv. Janez Krstnik), better seen on photo 2.

The main square in Piran is called Tartine square after the music composer Giuseppe Tartini who was born in Piran.
It´s quite a big square for such a small town and it is real nice, especially at night where it really comes to live with loads of people sitting on the square and children playing all over the place.
The square used to be part of the harbour, but a little over a 100 years ago they filled up the harbour and now they have this wonderful square where the harbour used to be.