August 2019

Koper is a nice town located in the south western part of Slovenia. It is only twenty kilometers far from Trieste; in Italy.

I have visited Koper some times; as day trip from Portorose. It is easy to go to Koper from Portorose. There are several buses that operate between these two towns every day.

This town has a nice old core; some nice squares and a museums (or maybe some more).

Titov trg is the main square in Koper. It is bordered by several buildings.

Here you can visit the cathedral of the Assumption. It was rebuilt in the XVIII century and is dedicated to Saint Nazarius; Koper' s patron saint.

Beside the church there is a bell tower that was originally separated from the church.

Near the bell tower we see the Praetorian Palace. This was the residence of the podestà; the ruler of the town who was chosen directly by the doge (the ruler) of Venice. Its current structure dates from the mid 15th century.

This palace was built on the site of two XIII century houses. In the second half of the XIII century these were joined. Today the Praetorian Palace houses the town hall and some rooms opened to visitors. Ask at the tourist office on the ground floor for a guided tour of the palace.

Opposite this palace there is a loggia. It was built in 1463 and renovated in the 17th century. Today it houses a modern cafe.

The regional museum is housed inside the Belgramoni - Tacco Palace. It was built around 1600 on the site of a previous building.

Inside you can see an archaeological collection with items found in Istria and also wooden statues, paintings and various furniture. There are also various musical instruments and a rich collection of weapons.

The Belgramoni - Tacco Palace is also used for cultural and musical event.

Don't miss the beautiful door knocker of the main door of this palace.

Behind the palace there is a nice garden which is now used as lapidarium. It is part of the palace.

Walking in the old core of Koper it seems to be in an old village.

There are even some Medieval houses in Koper.

Preseren square was named after the famous poet France Presernov. It is located at the southern end of the old town.

At Preseren square you can see the Da Ponte fountain It was built in the 1666. It supplied the town with drinkable water for several centuries.

At one end of the square there is the Muda Gate. It is the last remaining gate of the old Koper. It was also the main gate of the town. There were twelve of them. On Preseren square there is also a church; Saint Basso church.

Carpaccio square takes its name from Vittore Carpaccio (1460-1525); a famous Venetian painter. Here you can see the house where he was born. It is located at number 6. Probably it was his son Benedetto who lived there.

At this square there is also a well taken from Venice; a column built in the 1571 and erected to commemorate the naval victory against the Turks at Lepanto.

There is a old salt warehouse built in the 17th century on this square. Today it is used as an exposition site.

Koper has a large bus station. Unfortunately it is quite far from the town center. I think it is could be two kilometers far. Thus I' d suggest to take a bus to the town center from there. This station has a vending machine for a hot drink and a convenient cafe located outdoor.

Piran ia beautiful small town in southwestern Slovenia; on the Adriatic coast.

I have visited it as a day trip from Portorose several times. Portorose is a sea side resort some ten minutes far from Piran, by bus.

The old core of this town is made of a maze of narrow streets. There you will find cafes, restaurants and shops.

Tartini square is the main square in Piran. It was named after the violinist and composer Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770) who was born in this town.

Long ago this square was a harbour for fishing boats. In 1894 it was filled in because of bad smell, filth and for health and sanitary reasons.

Tartini Square is surrounded by various colorful houses, the New Town Hall, the Court Hall; Tartini' s birthplace and the Venetian House.

The Venetian house is a red palace built in the middle of the 15th century. It is the oldest preserved house on this square. It was built by a merchant for his mistress.

As a response for the gossips about this relationship a stone inscription with the words "lassa pur dir" (= let them say) was put on its facade.

There are several churches in Piran. There is even a cathedral; t. It is dedicated to Saint George. This church was probably built in the XII century. The present building dates back to the year 1637.

Inside there is a beautiful organ, some interesting paintings and the Crucifix of Piran made in the 14th century. It is a very moving masterpiece.

Next to the church stands a bell tower built in the 1608. It is said this is a very good viewpoint over the town.

Another building near the cathedral is the baptistery; built in the 1650. Adjacent to the cathedral there is a small museum with some interesting works of art and the crypt.

Just outside the Cathedral there is a viewpoint where you can see most of Tartini Square and some areas in Piran.

Saint Francis' church was built originally in the early 14th century; enlarged and renovated over the centuries. The present interior dates from the 17th century and the exterior from the 19th century. This church belongs to a Minorite monastery.

Tartini' s family members are buried under a slab below the floor of this church.

What I liked much of this church is a painted inner dome.

Next to the church there is a white cloister that is used for concerts in the summer. In a small room near the cloister there is a collection of paintings and some ancients statues.

There is a beautiful aquarium in Piran. It is housed inside Villa Piranesi; not far from the harbour.

You can' t compare it with the aquariums in cities as Valencia or Lisbon. This is a small aquarium with 25 tanks where around 140 sea creatures live.

Here you won' t find tropical fishes, but local sea animals.

I think the aquarium is a good place to spend one hour or more. It is the right attraction to take your kids.

On my second visit to Piran I had a stroll to the Punta lighthouse area. It is located on the tip of the Piran peninsula.

Beyond the lighthouse there is a church formerly consacrated to Saint Clement. In the 17th century it was renamed as Our Lady of Health because of the plague that propagated throughout Istria. This church was first mentioned in the 13th century.

At the lighthouse area there is a good choice of restaurants and a concrete beach.

The Maritime Museum Sergej Masera is housed in the Gabrielli Palace. It was built in the middle of he 19th century.

Here you can see exibits on marine archaeology under a ground floor covered with glass; a collection of ancient model ship replicas; tools for repairing and building ships, navigational instruments, sailors uniforms and many other things.

I am not into "maritime things", but I liked this museum anyway. The statue you see in the second pic was one of the things I liked most here

The 1st of May square was the administrative center of Piran until the 13th century. Here stood the old town hall.

On this square you see the deconsacrated church of Saint Donat (1325) which houses an art gallery; some restaurants and a supermarket.

In the middle of the square there is a stone cistern surrounded by four statues. The bigger ones depict law and justice; the others two cherubs.

The cistern was built after the severe draught in 1775. Gutters were connected to the statues from the surrounding roofs in order to collect rain water. Then it was purified through sand.

Rimini is situated in central Italy; in the Emilia Romagna region.

Being a sea side resort, most of the people go to Rimini in order to spend some hours (or most of their time) on the beaches.

In Rimini there is practically a long strip of beach. It is 15 kilometers long or maybe more.

Many beaches are of private property, but there are free of charge ones. There are dogs friendly beaches as well.

As in most of the Italian seaside resort these beaches are very crowded during the month of august. Thus I' d suggest to spend your days in Rimini in june or at the beginning of september.

The Malatestian temple is one of the main sights in Rimini.

There was a church since the IX century on its site.Then it was built the church of Saint Francis in the XIII century. It was redesigned in 1450 by order of Sigismondo Malatesta as his and her mistress' burial site.

Inside it is richly ornated with sculptures. Its main sights are a crucifix by Giotto; created in 1312 and a fresco by Piero della Francesca of 1451 depicting Sigismondo kneeling in front of Saint Sigismond.

This church was restored after it suffered serious damages in the WWII war.

Piazza tre Martiri is one of the two main squares in Rimini. It occupies partly the forum or Ariminum; the Roman colony founded in 268 B. C.

Its previous names were; Piazza Grande, Piazza Sant Antonio, Piazza Giulio Cesare and Piazza delle Erbe. It was named "tre Martiri" to commemorate the death of three partisans hanged there in 1944. Martiri means "marthyrs".

Here you see a nice clock tower, built in 1547 and rebuilt in 1753 and the small chapel dedicated to Saint Anthony. This dates between 1575 and 1578.

Saint Anthony' s chapel.

Corso 101 Vulpitta dolciumi is one of my favourite shops in Rimini. Here they sell sweets, wines, alcoholic drinks, tea, coffee and lots of other items. You can find it around the corner of piazza Tre Martiri; in corso d' Augusto.

This is a small shop but full of things. I could stay into this shop for a lot of time; really.

La Casa del Chirurgo. The Surgeon' s house.

There are some Roman remains in Rimini. One of these is a large floor mostly decorated with mosaics. This is what is left of the house of a surgeon. It was built during the second half of the second century A. D.

It was a two storey building with several rooms and a garden. There was even a workplace for visits and operations.

Various surgical tools were found here. Now these are in the city museum.

If you are quite attentive you can spot a couple of skeletons among the mosaics.

Piazza Cavour is another square in this town.

There are three palace joined together in Piazza Cavour. On your right; near the street you see Palazzo Garampi; built at the end of the XVII century. It is used as town hall today.

Palazzo dell' Arengo housed a courthouse. It is located in the middle of this group of palaces. It was built in 1204. The third palace is Palazzo del Podestà . This was were the lord of the town lived. It dates between 1330 e il 1334. Today it is the seat of various expositions .

Next to the palaces there is the theater Amintore Galli built between 1843 and 1856.

In piazza Cavour there is a large fountain; fontana della Pigna (i. e. pine cone). There is also a big statue of Pope Paul V.

Opposite the three palaces you see an old fish market; built in 1743. Today there is a flowers market inside this building. I suppose it is in operation every morning.

Here you can see the teather Amintore Galli.

Città del Sole is another favourite shops of mine in Rimini. Here you can find mostly toys, but also something for adults, as table games and books. This shop is part of a chain which has shops located in various towns in Italy.

Città del Sole is located at via Tempio Malatestiano. At n. 45.

Get lost in Rimini! You will discover several nice areas.

The Tiberius bridge is a beautiful Roman bridge. This five arched stone bridge was started during the reign of Augustus in 14 A. D. and completed under Tiberius' reign in 21 A. D.

Originally it was built to cross the Marecchia river, but this was later diverted to avoid floods. This bridge has survived floods, war attacks and earthquakes.

It connects corso d' Augusto; the old town' s main street with Saint Giuliano quarter (Borgo San Giuliano). This bridge is open to pedestrians and cars except for heavy vehicles.

Borgo San Giuliano is one of the oldest areas in Rimini. It was originally inhabited by seafarers and fishermen.

Today this area is a kind of village, with lots of colorful houses, the main square with a church; several cafes, restaurants and shops.

I stayed some times at a nice three stars hotel in Rimini. Hotel Clitunno. It is situated in Viserbella; an area part of Rimini.

Last time I booked a room there, I was given a double room with bathroom en suite there. It had also a small balcony.

Breakfast at this hotel is buffet style; with pastries, bread, cold cuts, jam and other food. Hot drinks, as coffee, cappuccino and hot chocolate are served at your table. Lunch and dinner are partly buffet style. Food at hotel Clitunno was really good.

Hotel Clitunno has a communal room, a cafe and a terrace. This hotel is located near the sea. See; www.hotelclitunno.net

Cesenatico is a beautiful sea side resort located between Rimini and Ravenna.

I did a day trip from Rimini to this town last time I visited Rimini. The journey from Rimini to Cesenatico lasted around half an hour by train.

I didn' t visit any beaches in Cesenatico the day I was there, I only stayed in the old center and I walked a lot.

I think the highlight of this town is its canal port. It is said it was designed by Leonardo da Vinci in 1502. It is situated in the center of Cesenatico.

This harbour is bordered by lots of buildings painted in various colours. Many of these house shops, cafes and restaurants. There are some colourful old boats moored at this port which are part of the museo della marineria (a naval museum).

Santarcangelo di Romagna is a beautiful village some 10 kilometers far from Rimini. I went there by bus from Rimini.

It has a fortress (Rocca), built in 1386 (there was a previous one); enlarged and modified after a century.

Near and below the fortress you can explore the Medieval area of the village with a network of narrow cobbled streets and nice houses. The "modern" area has lots of shops and cafes to rest a bit.

Santarcangelo has also a couple of museums. A museum of buttons; where you can see a large display of buttons from various ages and an archaeological museum.

In this picture you see the upper area of Santarcangelo from a park.

Beside Cesenatico and Santarcangelo di Romagna you can visit San Marino as a day trip from Rimini.

San Marino is a country located within Italy. It is the third smallest country in Europe and one of the oldest in the world.

You can go from Rimini to San Marino by coach. You can take one just outside the train station.

According a legend San Marino was founded by Marinus, a Dalmatian stomemason, in 301 A. D. He left his country to avoid the christian persecutions of Diocleatianus.

There are nine municipalities in this country. These are called "castelli".

I will tell you something about its capitol town; San Marino. Yes, it bears the same name of the state.

Piazza della Libertà is San Marino main square. Here you can see the Palazzo Pubblico. This palace is the seat of the parliament and where important official happenings take place. It was built in 1894.

This country has several shops that offer tax free goods for foreigners. San Marino even if it is a small town has a good choice of shops of various kinds.

There are three towers in San Marino. Well; two of them are fortresses, The other is a proper tower.

The first tower is called Torre Rocca or Guaita. It dates around to the XI century.

This is the witches' path (its Italian name is il Sentiero delle Streghe). It is the path which links the fist the first and the second towers.

This arch lies under the witches' path.

The second tower; Torre Cesta or Fratta was built around the 1400. It is situated on the highest point of the Mount Titano. Here you see a view from this tower.

This tower houses a weaponry museum inside.

The third tower is called Montale and housed a prison. It is not opened to visitors. I didn' t take any picture of this tower.

The garden you see in this picture is next to the Cava dei Balestrieri (the crossbowmen' s cave). This cave is the site of many events.

There are some nice statues inside this garden.

After a long stroll you can rest a bit at this garden; the Giardino dei Liburni.

This garden is quite simple, but nice.

I had a good ice cream at cafe Titanium. At this small place they sell a large choice of ice creams flavours.

This is a close up of the main gate' s door of the town.