Let us not be justices of the peace, but angels of peace.
Saint Therese of Lisieux
12 Comments CherryPie on Dec 20th 2015
The Loggia Palace is a Venetian Gothic palace, the only preserved Gothic town hall in Slovenia.
The earliest part of the existing building dates from 1462, when building work began on a replacement for an earlier Loggia that had stood in the same position on the north side of the main square of Koper, opposite the Praetorian Palace.[1]
Following a plague outbreak in Koper in 1553-1555,[2] the facade of the Loggia was embellished with coats-of-arms, and a terracotta statue of the Madonna and Child was erected in a niche above the left corner column.
Further work was carried out in 1698, when a second storey was added and the facade was extended with two additional arches taken from the west side of the palace.[3]
The Loggia currently houses a cafe on the ground floor.[4][5] In the second floor, it houses an art gallery operated by the Piran Coastal Galleries.
6 Comments CherryPie on Dec 18th 2015
The Cathedral stands in the nucleus of Koper and dominates the area between the east side of the main square, Tito Square (Titov trg), and Brolo Square (trg Brollo). The three-nave Romanesque space with three apses was built in the second half of the 12th century. The Romanesque construction is especially preserved on the south side, where typical funnel-shape windows are intact and the stonework is imitated in the facade. Towards the west the church was extended to the bell tower and in 1392 it was Gothicized. The lower floor facade by the square has remained Gothic. The upper floor was redone with pilaster separations after the fire in 1460. The decorative Renaissance elements are the most distinctive on the west side, built in 1488, and in the chiselled details, such as the portals.
In the middle of the square, right next to the west façade, stands a mighty self-supporting bell tower repaired as a city tower in the 15th century. It has four main floors. The upper is open on all sides by quadra-forums. Higher up is a terrace and an ending with an Aquileian cap. In the bell tower hangs one of the oldest bells in Slovenia (1333). It was cast by Master Jakob in Venice. The upper terrace is periodically open and offers a great view of the Bay of Trieste. The clock, positioned in the middle of the third floor, faces the square
8 Comments CherryPie on Dec 17th 2015
Koper is one of the oldest and most (unjustifiably) overlooked Slovene towns. The majority of people speeding past Koper on their way to Piran and Portorož only see the unattractive cranes of the Koper port from the road. But they do not know that a wonderful and lively old town center hides there. The long-standing rule of the Venetian Republic has left a fantastic architectural heritage, which is definitely worth a visit. Explore the narrow streets of Koper, discover its numerous squares and mingle with the locals, which are far more common here than tourists.
Koper or Capo d’Istria (the head of Istria) used to be an island and a salt panning town. Its origins go as far back as the Roman era; but the Venetian Republic has left the most prominent stamp, which was the time when this town economically and culturally blossomed. With the downfall of the Venetian Republic and the construction of the railway Trieste-Vienna, Koper lost its significance slightly. Nevertheless, after the 2nd World War it started to develop persistently and in time it has become the economic capital of the coastal region and an important port town.
The main attraction in Koper is Tito Square which is surrounded on all four sides by beautiful architecture, one of which is the former Praetorian Palace.
The Praetor’s Palace closes off the south edge of the central Koper Square. A storey palace with an exterior staircase and two elevated tower-like wings on the east and west dominates the side of the square.
It is the most representational secular building in the city. With its late Gothic Renaissance facade and different inner areas it reaches the top of secular palaces of its time in Slovenia. The building was constructed on the location of two older houses from the middle of the 13th century. In the second half of the 13th century the buildings were connected by a loggia and were later rebuilt several times and finalised as a building with characteristics of Venetian Gothic and all posterior remakings.
Between the tower-like edge areas there is a wide storey facade with a series of windows, a staircase and a `rizalit` balcony on the arch and two supporters, and a balcony by the hall with numerous decorative coats-of-arms, the engraved history of Koper. The cogged Ghibbeline addition was placed above the main facade in 1664. There stands Justice in stone, armed with a sword. In the building structure, the ground floor loggia is recognisable, while on the floor above we can decipher the halls of the large and small councils, several additional halls, rooms and former living quarters. The interior has been arranged for the representational needs of the municipality and fitted with period furniture in the celebration hall, offices and exhibition areas on the ground floor.
At the corner of the side facade of the palace there is a chiselled plaque with an opening, a typical Venetian “bocca del leone”, where anonymous messages for the mayor were left.
4 Comments CherryPie on Dec 16th 2015
4 Comments CherryPie on Dec 15th 2015
We had some complications along the way but both Christmas trees are finally up and decorated. As I was going to bed on Saturday evening I noticed that even though the heating was turned off it still appeared to be running. It is only a few weeks since we had a similar problem fixed. This meant we had to call out a service engineer to come and look at it, he phoned just as we were about to get the decorations down from the loft. This meant it was better to leave the decorations where they were until he called to fix the problem.
After he had departed we brought the decorations down and proceeded to set up the tree in the dining room which is at the front of our house. After the tree was put together it was time to drape the lights around the tree. We always check them spread out on the floor before putting them on the tree and they seemed to be working fine. However once they were draped around the tree one of the colours failed, which I suspected was terminal. Mr C fiddled with them on the tree and then at my request took them off again so they would be easier to check out. He changed the fuses and some of the bulbs and still they refused to work. I was beginning to feel uncomfortable about them and suggested that we used a spare set that we had.
One tree was adorned with the spare set of lights and decorations it was time to work on the tree in the sitting room which is at the back of the house. As I was assembling the tree Mr C looked for the lights which were nowhere to be found. He went up in the loft to see if he had left them up there by mistake. It was only when he came back down that I had the vague recollection of this set of lights failing last year. One of the colour strands had gone and as it was the type where the bulbs cannot be replaced we had binned it!! By this time it was too late to pop to the garden centre to pick up a new set up lights. That had to be done this evening and now the second tree is all sparkle and glow.
I have not had time to take any photographs yet so I will leave you with a couple from previous years.
12 Comments CherryPie on Dec 14th 2015
Filed under Faith Foundations, Holidays, Piran & Ljubljana 2015
Cherie’s Place – Thought for the Week
They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repent.
Mark 2:17
8 Comments CherryPie on Dec 13th 2015
