memento piran zgodovina

History

History of Memento. Do you know the meaning of the word Memento? A memento marks an event in time, a moment that happened and was imprinted in our memory… and certainly the building that houses the beautiful Bed and Breakfast today is full of mementos. Currently, the fifth generation of the family is walking the steps of the Piran pearl.

The whole story began way back in 1957, when the Tomšič family moved from Lucan to Piran, to Bolniško ulica 8, where B&B Memento stands today. Spouse Pavla and Ivan Tomšič came to Piran with their three children: Pavla, Marjan and Ivan. Son Marjan married Anamaria Starina from Hrastnik shortly after his return from the army and found a job in Piran as a photographer’s assistant in the ground floor of the Venetian house on Tartinije trg. Anamarija and Marjan had a son Marjan (in 1959) and a daughter Klavdija (in 1963). After a few years of living in Velenje, Marjan moved to Piran again and got a job in a photography studio, this time as a photographer in the Foto Galeb studio, which operated in the premises of the Trevisini Palace.

Nekoč družinska kuhinja, danes hotelska soba.
Once a family kitchen, today a hotel room.

A few years later, however, he and his wife Anamaria set out on their own and opened Foto Piran in the same place, where the couple created and took care of photographs; mementos of all the inhabitants of Piran. Oh, how many secrets they knew. The house where half of B&B Memento’s accommodations are located today was often full of people; relatives, friends, acquaintances who liked to hang out and knew that there was always fun and joy at the Tomšič family. According to stories, 34 relatives and friends once slept in their apartment, as if they knew that one day there would be a place here that would offer unique accommodations to tourists. How many incredible stories have unfolded here over the years, when only the walls could talk. In 1982 and 1983, daughter Klavdija and her husband Iztok Šoba gave birth to budding children – Jak and Anže. Klavdija, who also inherited a love for photography, opened a video store in the basement of the house with her husband Iztok (in 1989), which they named Šterna. Where does that name come from? In the inner courtyard of the house there was a well – a fountain, which can be seen today in the reception of the building.

Later, the basement space was also used as a gallery for the artist Marko Jezeršek. In 1993, Marjan and Anamarija sold the house on Bolniška Street to Italians, who also bought the house next door and started renovations, which were never finished. In 2014, Klavdija, Jak and Anže bought back both houses, and it is the three of them who today are responsible for the fact that a new urban asset has grown on this family site. Today, Marjan and Anamarija tell their grandchildren and great-grandchildren Raša, Gloria and Zarja about their adventures from their youth, and we all have a lot of fun with it. B&B Memento is a place with a soul, where visitors can feel the authenticity of Piran and the warmth of the house. In accordance with the tradition of the house, the new generations also want our guests to experience as many unforgettable memories as possible.