Izola
Izola (
Italian:
Isola or
Isola d'Istria) is a
town, and a
municipality of the same name, situated in southwestern
Slovenia on the coast of the
Adriatic Sea.
Originally an island in the northern Adriatic (hence the name, which comes from the Italian for "island"), it was first settled by the
Romans, who built a port at Haliaetum, on Simons Bay, to the southwest of the present city.
During the Middle Ages, it was controlled by the
Venetian Republic.
Its economic base was seriously hurt when
Trieste (
Trst in
Slovene) became the premier port in the region and a plague struck in the 16th century.
During the French occupation in the early 19th century, the city walls were torn down and used to fill in the channel that separated the island of Izola from the mainland.
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Izola, official page of municipality (in Slovenian and Italian)
