The established name Bay of Piran refers to the largest bay in the Gulf of Trieste in the extreme north of the Adriatic. One of the fundamental principles of internationally recommended handling of geographical names is that established names in general use should not be changed because they are indispensable in ensuring suitable identification of the named feature and they may also be an important part of intangible cultural heritage. A thorough examination of available cartographic material reveals that the Slovenian name Piranski zaliv ‘Bay of Piran’ is translation of Italian Rada di Pirano or Vallone di Pirano, a name over 200 years old that replaced the name Valle di Sicciole ‘Bay of Sečovlje’ only a century ago. This had replaced the previous centuries-old name Largon or Golfo Largone with for the present indefinable meaning toward the end of the eighteenth century.
COBISS.SI-ID: 273985280