Tartini Square

What makes it special

Start at the statue. The bronze is Giuseppe Tartini, the violinist and composer of the Devil's Trill and Piran's most famous citizen, larger than life on a tall stone pedestal. It was set to line up with the Church of St George on the hill, so look past him and up to the church.

The oval you stand on was the inner harbour for Piran's fishing boats until 1894, when it was filled in because sewage collected in the water. White Istrian stone now paves it from edge to edge.

The Venetian House on the corner is a Venetian Gothic building with a corner balcony. Between the upper windows a stone lion stands over the inscription Lassa pur dir, meaning Let them talk. Local tradition reads it as an answer to town gossip about a love affair, so the house is known as a monument to love.

Visiting

Empty before ten in the morning, the square is easiest to take in then. Begin at the statue and turn slowly to see the whole oval and the houses around it.

Then cross toward the Venetian House and look up from a few steps back to find the lion and the inscription between the upper windows. Finish with a drink at one of the café terraces on the edge of the square.

The square is a public space, so there is no ticket to buy.

Tips

Tour groups arrive by bus from mid-morning to early afternoon and crowd the square, so keep your photographs for the start or the end of the day. If you are driving in on a summer weekend or a public holiday, arrive early.