| Šmarje | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Šmarje Location in Slovenia | |
| Coordinates: 45°30′4.53″N13°43′5.42″E / 45.5012583°N 13.7181722°E Coordinates: 45°30′4.53″N13°43′5.42″E / 45.5012583°N 13.7181722°E | |
| Country |  |
| Traditional region | Littoral |
| Statistical region | Coastal–Karst |
| Municipality | Koper |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3.85 km2 (1.49 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 289.4 m (949.5 ft) |
| Population (2002) | |
| • Total | 390 |
| [1] | |
Šmarje (pronounced [ˈʃmaːɾjɛ] ; Italian : Monte di Capodistria) is a village in the City Municipality of Koper in the Littoral region of Slovenia. [2]
Italian is a Romance language. Italian, together with Sardinian, is by most measures the closest language to Vulgar Latin of the Romance languages. Italian is an official language in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino and Vatican City. It has an official minority status in western Istria. It formerly had official status in Albania, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro (Kotor) and Greece, and is generally understood in Corsica and Savoie. It also used to be an official language in the former Italian East Africa and Italian North Africa, where it plays a significant role in various sectors. Italian is also spoken by large expatriate communities in the Americas and Australia. In spite of not existing any Italian community in their respective national territories and of not being spoken at any level, Italian is included de jure, but not de facto, between the recognized minority languages of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Romania. Many speakers of Italian are native bilinguals of both standardized Italian and other regional languages.
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town, with a population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Though villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighborhoods. Villages are normally permanent, with fixed dwellings; however, transient villages can occur. Further, the dwellings of a village are fairly close to one another, not scattered broadly over the landscape, as a dispersed settlement.
The City Municipality of Koper is one of eleven city municipalities of Slovenia. It lies at the coastline of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Slovenia and was established in 1994. Its centre is the town of Koper. The area has been since 1995 included in Coastal–Karst Statistical Region. The municipality is bilingual.
The parish church in the settlement is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. [3]
A parish church in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, often allowing its premises to be used for non-religious community events. The church building reflects this status, and there is considerable variety in the size and style of parish churches. Many villages in Europe have churches that date back to the Middle Ages, but all periods of architecture are represented.
