The city of Piran is a precious treasure chest of history, culture and art of absolute beauty, which in addition to Tartini Square, Punta Madonna and the Cathedral of San Giorgio contains numerous treasures worthy of being discovered, admired and valorized. A good part of them have found a place in “Raccontare Pirano”, the new publication written by Daniela Paliaga Janković and Alberto Manzin, published by Unione Italiana.

According to the authors, the opportunity to launch this publishing project arose during a competition announced by the minority organization, where their idea received the necessary approval. The initiative, designed for a broad readership, came to life in practically four months. It is primarily intended for tourist guides who want to deepen their knowledge of Piran, for more curious tourists who want to breathe in its history, and last but not least for residents, both new and long-time, to learn something new about their city.

“The many and rich economic activities of the Venetian, Austrian and Italian periods were supplanted in the post-war period by a single predominant activity: tourism. After the boom of the 22s, XNUMXs and XNUMXs, mass tourism quickly dried up. It is therefore necessary to find an alternative that saves and develops the many activities that flank and implement the new offer, in favor of niche tourism, cultural, green and sustainable tourism”, the authors noted in the introduction, explaining their intent. In about eighty pages, XNUMX illustrative cards have found space, enriched by numerous iconographic historical sources and photographs of the present day, which allow the reader to more easily visualize the various points of interest discussed and immerse themselves in the past of the town.

“We began by presenting in chronological sequence important events and dates, local and international changes that have influenced the history, growth, affirmation and decline of the city in an economic, social and cultural sense”, wrote Manzin and Paliaga Janković who wanted to adopt a “lean, interesting and easy-to-read” editorial format.

“Raccontare Pirano” does not want to be one of those austere-looking tomes that present detailed descriptions and numerous explanations at the bottom of the page. On the contrary, it wants to virtually take the reader by the hand and accompany him, page after page, to discover the districts, the walls, the city gates, the palaces, the windows, the wells and cisterns and much more.

"To make the guide even more interesting, we have also included some lesser-known gems, such as the remains of the first city walls, whose location is known to few people. Initially, we drew up a list that included about forty cards and then made a selection and settled on about twenty. We left aside those that required further research in the archives or for which we had collected conflicting information and needed to be explored in more depth", Alberto Manzin revealed to us. In just three months from first publication on the web, the book has been viewed by 17 thousand people, proving, according to him, to be particularly interesting for Italian and, far from all expectations, German guides and travel agencies. The publication in paper format would hardly reach such a large readership, but the authors' wish is that "Raccontare Pirano" will see the light in this format, which they would also like to see accompanied by translations in Slovenian and English, perhaps with the support of the Municipality of Piran and the local Tourist Board.

Kris Dassena
Source: The Voice of the People – 13/07/2023