Captain
The Ministry of Culture provided €628,000 for the renovation, which was intended to encourage the preservation of the city's rich maritime and architectural heritage and contribute to its cultural revitalisation.
The fundamental characteristics of the urban development of the historic town of Koper, which was probably inhabited in antiquity, as recent archaeological findings testify to the presence of built structures from the Roman period, confirm the thesis that the settlement of the former island was a strategically important location. The 500-year rule of the Venetian Republic left a fundamental mark on the development of the town's structure and architecture. Favourable economic, economic and political conditions allowed the town to build up the entire area of the island, surrounded by walls. The longer transport links between Koper and Venice and other cities along the Adriatic coast were by sea, making the harbour the most important transport hub in the city. The harbour, situated on the western side of the city, was formed by two mandrakes and also by the city quarter Contrada was named after the port Porto. The smaller southern one was used for merchant ships, so a large warehouse, called St Mark's, was built inside the city walls on the city side. The northern mandrake was complemented by three built platforms for galleys. The main link between the harbour and the central part of the city was through St Martin's Gate.
Koper 1619, Giacomo Fino
The present-day Capitania building was designed as the administrative building of the Venetian Republic for port activities. The inscribed plaque with the year 1713 and the inscription and coat of arms of Peter Grimani, Podestat of Koper, is thought to represent the conversion of an older building on the site for port health services. Sanità portuale. It was built outside the compact city walls, on a platform next to the mandrake and between the fortress and the Balluardo Thiepolo terrapienato and the southern harbour fortification Parte terrap.ta, opposite the town gate of St Martin's (see plan by G. Fino, 1619).
With the collapse of the Venetian Republic after 1797, the importance of Koper, once the most important administrative and political centre of Istria, gradually diminished. Maritime transport was also losing its priority as it was gradually replaced by land transport. Despite the gradual changes and the different authorities that have changed over Koper, the building has retained its administrative port function.
Franciscan cadastre 1820
The 1819 Franciscan cadastre shows the floor plan of the building in the shape of the letter H. Later, the building underwent minor alterations so that the change in the floor plan was insignificant, retaining its square shape. Nevertheless, the building is architecturally unusual, especially in the design of its exterior, with a façade clad in white Istrian stone. Its architectural conception and design can be defined as a classical building, in which it is possible to recognise the proximity of the rich architectural development of Trieste, which is becoming a more important centre of the region, and of Vienna as a more important cultural centre of the Austrian monarchy. The symmetrical layout of the Capitania building reflects its interesting position in the space between the harbour and the compact urban development, with two entrances, one facing the sea and the opposite one facing the city. Among the uses that the building had, together with the offices, was also a medical one. The orientation of the two entrances indicates that, when disembarking from ships, passengers were first directed to the building for examination, and only with permission could they enter the city.
An inscription plaque with the year 1713, the inscription and the coat of arms of Peter Grimani, the Viceroy of Koper, is embedded in the building.
Kapitania, between the port and the city, Koper
From the mid-20th century, the building was used as a harbour captain's office, when the port of Koper was used for the docking of all ships and the Port of Koper was just beginning to develop intensively in the northern area of Koper. At that time, the idea of a waiting area for ship passengers was also considered, and the Slovenia project prepared the conceptual design documentation. A simple covered building was to be erected between the pier and the captain's building, but it was never built.
The next major project, by architect Edo Mihevc, was the installation of a bus station. This building was also temporary in character, made of wood, and stood until the end of the 1970s.
The Kapitania building is a symmetrical single-storey building with three window bays on three sides and a five-bay façade to the sea, with a prominent three-bay central part of the façade. This is terminated by a parapet wall running the full length of the projecting part of the façade. The rectangular, upright, simple window openings have stone frames, and are more elaborately designed on the first floor with cantilevered sills and moulded lintels, all in white Istrian stone. All four façades are faced with regularly carved white stone blocks and a simple projecting horizontal wreath runs between the ground and first floors. The captain's house was Ordinance on the declaration of certain immovable cultural and historical monuments in the municipality of Koper (Official Gazette of the Republic of Koper, No 1/93-4, 18/93; Official Gazette of the RS, No 57/2005, 66/2010) declared a cultural monument of local importance.
During the second half of the 20th century, the building was used by three state services: the Port Captaincy, the Police and the Customs, each of which maintained the building to the best of their ability. There have been no major alterations to the building, so the house has retained its original structural components: stone perimeter walls, timber mezzanine floors and timber roof structure. Since the services in question needed workplaces in individual rooms, they divided the larger rooms into smaller ones according to their needs, and this change made the floor heights of the small rooms too high, so an additional dropped ceiling was installed. The problem was to provide additional toilets for all three services, so an entrance was built from the city side. The original stone stairs, which were badly damaged due to the ceramic cladding on the walking surfaces, were preserved.
The renovation of the Capitania building aims to make the interior spaces fit in with the authentic appearance, using materials appropriate for this type of historic building wherever possible. The building will be occupied by the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, Regional Unit Piran, which will dedicate the ground floor to public activities. The largest space will be used as an exhibition area, where programmes relating to the protection of cultural heritage will be held, as well as for lectures and meetings of the aforementioned activities. The space will also be used for contact with customers and visitors, who will be informed about other activities and cultural monuments in the city and the wider area. The first floor and the attic are dedicated to conservation and service.
With the new activity, the building maintains the status of a public administrative building, for which it was designed and built, is publicly accessible to all who wish to learn as much as possible about the cultural heritage and thus represents an important active stakeholder in the tourist and general cultural activities of the Municipality of Koper..
Text by Mojca Marjana Kovač, Ph.D.
