The Maritime Museum of Piran researches maritime history, and maritimeand sea-related Mediterranean industries such as: shipbuilding, fishing, saltmaking, oil-making, transport services, trade, processing industry etc., as well as other maritime-related social and cultural activities. The Museum collects and preserves material and immaterial cultural heritage from the above mentioned areas.
The Gabriella Palace in Piran, where the Museum’s seat is situated, houses the most important permanent exhibitions: Underwater Archaeology; Historical, Ethnological and Cultural History Collection about the Development of Maritime from the Middle Ages to the End of the Second World War; and Ethnological Fishing Collection.
The four dislocated museum units host the following collections: Maritime Collection of the History of Ship Transportation Company Splošne Plovbe Piran in Portorož; Salt-Making Museum in the Sečovlje Salina Nature Park; Ethnological Collection with the reconstructed oil mill in the Tona House in Sv. Peter; Street Museum; and Collection of Ship Modeling in Izola. The only museum vessel – the “Sea Gull” Sea Boat – is moored in front of the Gabrielli Palace in the Piran Harbour.