Slovenia is situated at the crossroads of central and southeast Europe, touching the Alps and bordering the Adriatic Sea. The Alps—including the Julian Alps, the Kamnik-Savinja Alps and the Karawank chain, as well as the Pohorje massif—dominate northern Slovenia along its long border to Austria. Slovenia's Adriatic coastline stretches approximately 43 km (27 mi) from Italy to Croatia. Its part south of Sava river belongs to Balkan peninsula – Balkans.
The location at the junction of the Mediterranean, the Alps, the Dinarides and the Pannonian Plain and the area being traversed by major rivers have been the reasons for the intersection of the main transport routes in Slovenia. Their course was established already in Antiquity. A particular geographic advantage in recent times has been the location of the intersection of the Pan-European transport corridors V and X in the country. This gives it a special position in the European social, economic and cultural integration and restructuring.
Istria, formerly Histria (Latin), Ίστρια, is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Kvarner Gulf. It is shared by three countries: Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy. Croatia encapsulates most of the Istrian peninsula with its Istria County.
Koper is the sixth largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Istrian region in southwestern part of the country, approximately five kilometres south of the border with Italy and 20 kilometres from Trieste, Koper is the largest coastal city in the country. It is bordered by the satellite towns of Izola and Ankaran. With a unique ecology and biodiversity, it is considered an important natural resource. The city's Port of Koper is the major contributor to the economy of the Municipality of Koper. With only one percent of Slovenia having a coastline, the influence that the Port of Koper also has on tourism was a factor in Ankaran deciding to leave the municipality in a referendum in 2011 to establish its own. The city is a destination for a number of Mediterranean cruising lines. Koper is the main urban centre of the Slovenian Istria, with a population of about 25,000. Ales Brzan is the current mayor, serving since 2018.
Piran is a town in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. The town has much medieval architecture, with narrow streets and compact houses. Piran is the administrative seat of the Municipality of Piran and one of Slovenia's major tourist attractions. Until the mid-20th century, Italian was the dominant language, but it was replaced by Slovene as demographics shifted.
Vittore Carpaccio was an Italian painter of the Venetian school, who studied under Gentile Bellini. He is best known for a cycle of nine paintings, The Legend of Saint Ursula. His style was somewhat conservative, showing little influence from the Humanist trends that transformed Italian Renaissance painting during his lifetime. He was influenced by the style of Antonello da Messina and Early Netherlandish art. For this reason, and also because so much of his best work remains in Venice, his art has been rather neglected by comparison with other Venetian contemporaries, such as Giovanni Bellini or Giorgione.
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 Coastal–Karst Statistical Region is a statistical region in southwest Slovenia. It covers the traditional and historical regions of Slovenian Istria and most of the Karst Plateau, which traditionally belonged to the County of Gorizia and Gradisca. The region has a sub-Mediterranean climate and is Slovenia's only statistical region bordering the sea. Its natural features enable the development of tourism, transport, and special agricultural crops. More than two-thirds of gross value added are generated by services ; most was generated by activities at the Port of Koper and through seaside and spa tourism. The region recorded almost a quarter of all tourist nights in the country in 2013; slightly less than half by domestic tourists. Among foreign tourists, Italians, Austrians, and Germans predominated. In 2012 the region was one of four regions with a positive annual population growth rate (8.1‰). However, the age structure of the population was less favourable: in mid-2013 the ageing index was 133.3, which means that for every 100 inhabitants under 15 there were 133 inhabitants 65 or older. The farms in this region are among the smallest in Slovenia in terms of average utilised agricultural area per farm and in terms of the number of livestock on farms.
Slovenia has been a meeting area of the Slavic, Germanic, Romance, and Uralic linguistic and cultural regions, which makes it the most complex meeting point of languages in Europe. The official and national language of Slovenia is Slovene, which is spoken by a large majority of the population. It is also known, in English, as Slovenian. Two minority languages, namely Hungarian and Italian, are recognised as co-official languages and accordingly protected in their residential municipalities. Other significant languages are Croatian and its variants and Serbian, spoken by most immigrants from other countries of former Yugoslavia and their descendants. Slovenia is ranked among the top European countries regarding the knowledge of foreign languages. The most often taught foreign languages are English and German, followed by Italian, French, and Spanish.
Miško Šuvaković is a contemporary aestheticist, art theorist and conceptual artist born in 1954 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. He taught theory of art and theory of culture in Interdisciplinary Postgraduates Studies at the University of Arts in Belgrade. He teaches theory of art and theory of culture in transdisciplinary master and doctoral studies at the Faculty of media and communication.
Zoran Mušič, baptised as Anton Zoran Musič, was a Slovene painter, printmaker, and draughtsman from the Karst Plateau near the Adriatic Sea. He was the only painter of Slovene descent who managed to establish himself in the elite cultural circles of Italy and France, particularly Paris, where he lived for most of his later life. He painted landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and self-portraits, as well as scenes of horror from the Dachau concentration camp and vedute of Venice.
Gravisi–Barbabianca Mansion is a Baroque mansion in Koper, a port town in southwestern Slovenia. It was built in 1710. It was the family seat of the Gravisi family, who held the title of the Marquis of Pietrapelosa. Today it is the home of a music school.
Gligor Stefanov is a sculptor and environmental installations artist, who lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
Slovene Istria is a region in southwest Slovenia. It comprises the northern part of the Istrian peninsula, and it is part of the wider geographical-historical region known as the Slovene Littoral. Its largest urban center is Koper. Other large settlements are Izola, Piran, and Portorož. The entire region has around 120 settlements. In its coastal area, both Slovene and Italian are official languages.
Mladen Stilinović was a Croatian conceptual artist and one of the leading figures of the so-called "New Art Practice" in Croatia. He lived and worked in Zagreb, Croatia.
The Koper Regional Museum has been housed since 1954 in the spacious early 17th century Belgramoni Tacco Palace, and is responsible for the movable cultural heritage in Primorska region of Slovenia. The museum originated in 1911 as the Municipal Museum of History and Art. At its centenary in 2011, the museum opened a new permanent exhibition Between the Serenissima, Napoleon and the Habsburgs and enriched its collection.
The Slovene Riviera is the coastline of Slovenia, located on the Gulf of Trieste, by the Adriatic Sea. It is part of the Istrian peninsula and is 46.6 km long. The region comprises the towns of Koper and Piran with Portorož, and the municipality of Izola. It is a seaside tourist destination, with a vibrant multiethnic Slovenian and Italian heritage.
In Slovenia, a forma viva is an open-air sculpture gallery or museum set in a park, displaying contemporary sculpture from around the world.
Tjaša Iris is a Slovenian-born artist, known for her photographs and large paintings painted with bright colors, vivid atmospheres of gardens with lush vegetation and bright light. Color is the main concern in her painting, exploring its emotional and expressive qualities.
Dragan Sakan, was an advertising pioneer of Serbia and other countries in the region. The magazine Advertising Age, Washington described him as "almost a mythical figure... The man who transformed propaganda into advertising in the region".
