Slovene Littoral
The Slovene Littoral (, ; ; ) is one of the five traditional regions of Slovenia. The littoral in its name - for a coastal-adjacent area - recalls the former Austrian Littoral (Avstrijsko Primorje), the Habsburg possessions on the upper Adriatic coast, of which the Slovene Littoral was part. Geography The region forms the westernmost part of Slovenia, bordering the intermunicipal union of Giuliana in the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia of Italy. It stretches from the Adriatic Sea in the south up to the Julian Alps in the north. The Slovene Littoral comprises two traditional provinces: Goriška and Slovene Istria. The Goriška region takes its name from the town of Gorizia () now in Italy; the neighbouring conurbation of Nova Gorica and Šempeter-Vrtojba today is the urban centre of the Slovene Littoral. Slovene Istria comprises the northern part of the Istria peninsula and provides, on the Slovene Riviera coastline with the ports of Koper, Izola, and Piran, the country's only access to the sea. After Ljubljana, the Slovene Littoral is the most developed and economically most prosperous part of Slovenia. The western part of Slovene Istria is a bilingual region where both Slovene and Italian may be used in