Ankaran is a town in the Municipality of Ankaran, located near the border with Italy, in the Littoral region of Slovenia. It is less than 5 km from the Italian town of Muggia near Trieste, about 2.5 km from the Italian-Slovenian border, 6.5 km from Koper, and 33 km from the nearest Croatian town, Buje. In the entire municipality both Slovenian and Italian are official languages.GeographyThe town of Ankaran is located at the south end of the Muggia Peninsula (sometimes also called the Ankaran Peninsula) at the northwest end of Istria, and extends across the territory of former village of Ankaran, Valdoltra, and Debeli Rtič. It is the northernmost of all the coastal settlements of the Slovenian Riviera and one of the last settlements in Istria before the Karst region. In ancient times it was one of the most important routes along the Adriatic coast. The Mediterranean climate allows grape and olive cultivation.NameAnkaran was attested in written sources in 1700 as Ancaran. The Slovenian name is borrowed from Italian Ancarano (dialect Ancaràn), which is derived from the name Ancharius and therefore means 'property of Ancharius'. Additional settlements in Italy with the same name origin include Ancarano, Ancaiano (in Tolentino), and Ancharano (in Tuscany). During Roman times, the area of today's Ankaran was probably known as Ultra—literally, 'across (the bay)'—referring to the perspective from Koper.