Muggia, Parenzo, Pola, and Trieste established
scholarships at the University of Padua, where Istrian professors became
rectors. But, even in the fourteenth century, there were already school
teachers in Pirano, Muggia, and Capodistria.

It is Pirano on its headland, with the cathedral standing out against
the sea, and with its crown of battlemented towers among cypresses and
other trees which terminates the land as seen from the railway
descending from Nabresina to Trieste; for, though the Point of Salvore
stretches actually farther out, it is low, and does not catch the eye as
Pirano does, especially when its characteristic silhouette is emphasised
by the blue shadow of a passing cloud. The headland upon which the
cathedral is built, with its arched buttresses below, hides the town,
except for the fortified cresting high above the trees; but, when the
point is rounded and the harbour entered, one is tempted to assert that
there are few places so picturesque. The quays are crowded with
fishing-boats, which are backed by the brilliantly white buildings. The
green water reflects boats, buildings, and sky with a bewildering
flashing and mingling of varied colours; while, above the houses of the
Piazza Tartini, other houses and towers climb to the battlemented walls
which crown the hill above a space filled with the grey of olives and
green of the grass beneath them. Within the town the streets are narrow
and often arched over, producing striking effects of light and shade;
and there are external stairs to some of the houses and many balconies.

It is an ancient town, and may have been founded by Celtic immigrants,
since the word "pyrn" (a possible derivation for its name) means "top of
the hill" in Celtic. It certainly was inhabited in Roman times, for the
foundations of a Roman house have been found, as well as inscriptions,
bronzes, and other objects now preserved in the museums of Trieste,
Parenzo, and Pola. The names of a good many places near are of Roman
derivation, but the first definite mention of Pirano is made by the
anonymous Ravennese chronicler. In the tenth century the Istrians
attacked the possessions of the Patriarch of Grado and of Venice, under
the Marquis Winter, who governed for Ugo, king of Italy. The doge
retaliated by prohibiting all commerce with Pirano, Trieste, Muggia,
Capodistria, Cittanova, and Pola, and this soon brought them to their
knees, finally resulting in the treaty of 933.

[Illustr