page_title: Portorož
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Portorož / History
caption_attribution_description: Slovenščina: Razglednica Portoroža.
context_page_description: Portorož is a Slovenian Adriatic seaside resort and spa town located in the Municipality of Piran in southwestern Slovenia. Its modern development began in the late 19th century with the vogue for the first health resorts. In the early 20th century Portorož became one of the grandest seaside resorts in Adriatic, along with Abbazia, Lido and Grado, then as part of the Austrian Littoral. It is now one of Slovenia's major tourist areas. Located in the centre is the Hotel Palace, once one of the most important resorts for the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, and currently one of the finest hotels between Venice and Dubrovnik.
  The settlement and its surrounding areas are served by Portorož International Airport which is located in the nearby village of Sečovlje.
context_section_description: The history of the settlement is directly connected to that of the neighbouring town of Piran, with Illyrian settlers already living there in the prehistoric era. They were followed by Celtic tribes, which were later conquered and annexed by the Roman Empire in 178 B.C. Archaeological finds suggest that in this period many farms and villas, also named villae rusticae, were built in the area. A large development of the area followed only after the demise of the empire, with enlargement of the number of settlers seeking shelter from attacks by the Barbarians.
  In the 7th century, the area was a part of the Byzantine Empire. Due to increasing dissatisfaction with the feudal rule, as well as the rising power of the Venetian Republic, the settlement of Pirano signed a trade treaty with Venice, which included a lesser degree of autonomy.
  One of the first religious orders who came to this area was the Benedictines. 
  In the 12th century, the broader region already had four monasteries and even more churches. Among those, one of the oldest was the church of Our Lady of the Rosary, which stood by the bay in the beginnings of the 13th century. Its name was Sancta Maria Roxe or S. Maria delle Rose, and in 1251 the bay was named by it Portus sanctae Mariae de Rosa.
  One of the most important roles in the history of the settlement was the monastery of Saint Laurence, where the Benedictines healed rheumatic illnesses, ascites and other diseases with concentrated saltwater and saline mud. In 1210, the area was overtaken by the Patriarchy of Aquileia.
  
  In the 13th century, Pirano entered a brief war from December 1282 to January 1283, in which it was defeated by the Venetian Republic. 
  During the second Venetian rule, it was, contrary to other towns on the Istrian peninsula, loyal to Venetian rule, and as such gained special privileges within the republic, which in turn caused the local economy to boom. In 1797, Venetian rule came to a close as the Austrian Empire took over the area for a brief period until 1806. From 1806 to 1813, the entire Istrian Peninsula became part of the Illyrian Provinces.
  A period of economic growth followed during the second Austrian rule, with enlargement of trade and locally important salt pans in nearby Lucija and Sečovlje. In the aftermath of the Great War, the Treaty of Rapallo determined the Istrian peninsula to be from that point on a part of the Kingdom of Italy.
  Under the royal and then fascist rule, the area found itself amidst economic decline and civil conflicts between the populace and the state. In World War II, the area had not seen much action, although the important industrial hub of Trieste suffered multiple bombings. In the aftermath of the war, the settlement found itself in the United Nations-administered Free Territory of Trieste. After the dissolution of the Trieste state it became a part of Yugoslavia.
caption: Portorož's bath in 1915
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