Trieste, Italy
Triest is a city in North-East Italy. Once a very influential and
powerful centre of politics, literature, music, art and culture under
Austrian-Hungarian dominion, its importance fell into decline towards
the end of the 20th century, and today, Trieste is often forgotten as
tourists head off to the big Italian cities like Rome and Milan. It is,
however, a very charming underestimated city, with a quiet and lovely
almost Eastern European atmosphere, several pubs and cafes, some
stunning architecture and a beautiful sea view. It was also, for a
while, the residence of famous Irish writer James Joyce.
Trieste is the capital of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia
Giulia and has 201,261 inhabitants. It is situated on the crossroads of
several commercial and cultural flows: German middle Europe to the
north, Slavic masses and the Balkans to the east, Italy and then Latin
countries to the west and the Mediterranean Sea to the south.
Its artistic and cultural heritage is linked to its singular “border
town” location. You can find some old Roman architecture (a small
theater near the sea, a nice arch into old city and an interesting
Roman museum), Austrian empire architecture across the city centre
(similar to stuff you can find in Vienna) and a nice atmosphere of
metissage of Mediterranean styles, as Trieste was a very important port
during the 18th century.
Trieste has always been a very cosmopolitan city. This can be seen in
the cultural diversity and even in religion: there is a Greek Orthodox
church, a Serbian Orthodox church, a Lutheran church, and a synagogue.
The region of Friuli Venezia Giulia is officially quadrilingual
(Italian, Slovene, Friulian or Eastern Ladin and German). Signs are
often only italian in Trieste, as the city itself is generally Italian
speaking and the local dialect (a form of the Venetian language) is
called Triestine. Surrounding villages and towns are often inhabited by
mostly Slovene speakers. Residents, and those working in the city, can
easily find free courses to learn Italian or Slovene or German or
English and many other languages.
Getting There
By Air
The International Airport of Ronchi dei Legionari is 33km north of the
city centre. A bus service (number 51) runs to the airport from
Trieste’s bus station (next to the railway station). Weekdays buses
leave at 5 minutes and 35 minutes past the hour however on Sundays the
service is every 1 to 2 hours. The bus takes about 55 minutes, a taxi
(around 50 euro) takes 30-35 minutes. Tickets can be bought from a
machine in the airport terminal. You can also take a train from Trieste
station to Monfalcone (approximately 25 minutes) and take a short bus /
taxi ride to the airport.
By Bus
There is a daily bus from Maribor (12:50) that runs through Ljubljana and on to Trieste.
By Train
Lots of trains from Venice and Udine, Eurostar from Milan and Rome and
Cisalpino from Basel at the Central Railway Station. There are no rail
links with Slovenia: once at Sezana’s train station you can catch a bus
to Trieste, the last leaving at 14:00, only on working days. If you are
coming from Jesenice, you can get off at Nova Gorica, catch the bus
no.1 to Gorizia station and then a train to Trieste.
If you arrive by train, the last 15 minutes of travel you have a
beautiful sight, because the railway goes along the sea and if the
weather is good it should be very striking. There is a rail link
between Sezana (Slovenia), which has rail connections with Ljubliana,
and Villa Opicina, which is the first stop in Italy.
By Boat
Minoan Lines has ferries sailing to and from Trieste from the ports of
Ancona and Ravenna in Italy and Igoumenitsa and Patras in Greece. The
Trieste ticket office for Minoan Lines is in the Greek Consulate at Via
G. Rossini 6, on the first floor, next to the Grand Canal in Piazza
Sant’Antonio Nuovo. The ferry dock is on Via della Rampa near Molo 7 in
the industrial port at the south of the city’s waterfront. Ferries take
walk on passengers, motor vehicles, bicycles, and campers/caravans. If
you are on foot, take the taxi to the docks, as the area going in can
be hazardous due to freight trains and heavy commercial traffic.
Plan and Book:
Trieste, Italy: See and Do
There is a tourist office at the edge of Piazza Unità
d’Italia, in the Lloyd Triestino building. Information is available in
Italian, German, and English, as are tourist maps and brochures of
information about attractions in and around the city.
Like most of Europe, a stroll through the town to admire its ancient
architecture is a very popular activity. You get to travel at your own
pace and even get some coffee along the way. Trieste is not
particularly big and if you do not have luggage with you there is no
need to take a bus. Bus Trieste has a network of buses running on a
strict schedule. This can often be checked on the web . Routes are very
frequent through the day but rarer after 9pm in the evening, on Sundays
and holidays. Strikes occasionally affect buses but Trieste is a small
city and most places of interest can easily be reached on foot. Tickets
can be bought from tobacconists and from machines which are found at
some of the busier bus stops. Bicycle Bicycle rentals are available in
some places around the city.
Città Vecchia (Old Town) – Trieste boasts an extensive old
town: there are many very narrow and crooked streets with typical
medieval houses. Nearly the entire area is closed to traffic.
The Austrian Quarter – Half of the city was built under
Austrian-Hungarian dominion, so there is present a very large number of
palaces that resemble Vienna. An iconic place of this quarter is the
majestic Piazza Unità (Unity Square), which is Europe’s largest
sea-front square. The most present architecture styles are
Neoclassical, Art Nouveau, Eclectic, and Baroque.
Museo Revoltella – This museum was donated to the city in 1869 by
Baron Pasquale Revoltella, a great patron of the arts who liked to
surround himself with precious and avant-garde works. In a building
restored and extended by architect Carlo Scarpa, the museum today
houses one of Italy’s finest collections of 19th-century, modern
and contemporary art.
Museo di Storia, Arte e Orto Lapidario (Museum of History and Art and
Lapidary Garden) Archaeological, historical and art collections.
Prehistoric and protohuman findings of local origin; Roman and medieval
sculptures and epigraphs. Egyptian, Greek, Roman and pre-Roman
antiques. Numismatic collection. Photograph and book libraries.
Museo di Storia Naturale – Zoological, botanical, geological,
paleontological and mineralogical collections. Vivarium. Specialised
scientific library.
The Roman Theatre – Trieste or Tergeste, which probably dates back
to the protohistoric period, was enclosed by walls built in 33-32 BC on
Emperor Octavius’s orders. The city developed greatly during the
1st and 2nd century AD. The Roman Theatre lies at the foot of the San
Giusto hill, and faces the sea. The construction partially exploits the
gentle slope of the hill, and most of the construction work is in
stone. The topmost portion of the amphitheatre steps and the stage were
presumably made of wood. The statues that adorned the theatre (which
was brought to light in the ’30s) are now preserved at the Town Museum.
Three inscriptions from the Trajan period mention a certain Q.
Petronius Modestus, a person who was closely connected with the
development of the theatre, which was erected during the second half of
the 1st century.
Il Faro della Vittoria (Victory Lighthouse) – The Lighthouse of the
Victory, an impressive work of the Triestine architect Arduino Berlam
(1880-1946) and of the sculptor Giovanni Mayer (1863-1943), has two
important functions. Besides lighting the gulf of Trieste, in order to
help navigation, it also serves as a commemorative monument dedicated
to the fallen of the first World War. The lighthouse is topped by an
embossed copper statue of Victory sculpted by Giovanni Mayer. Under
this statue is affixed the anchor of the torpedo-boat Audace (the first
Italian ship that entered the port of Trieste on November 3,1918),
Arco di Riccardo – The “Arco di Riccardo” is an Augustan gate built in
the Roman walls in 33 A.D. It stands in Piazzetta Barbacan, in the
narrow streets of the old town.
Museo della Comunità Ebraica di Trieste “Carlo e Vera Wagner”
(“Carlo e Vera Wagner” Museum of the Jewish Community of Trieste) –
Collection of ritual art of the Jewish community of Trieste, mainly
silverware and fabrics.
Synagogue – It’s one of the largest in Europe, and was built in 1912.
Open on Sundays 10÷12 and on Thursdays 15.30÷17.30,
guided tours only.
Museo della Risiera di San Sabba (Risiera di San Sabba Museum) – A
national monument – a testimonial of the only Nazi extermination camp
in Italy.
Railway Museum Trieste Campo Marzio – Housed in the former railhouse,
the museum features drawings, models and fullsized train engines and
railcars as well as horse-drawn trams from Trieste’s past.
Barcola This paved waterfront walk stretches from a little north of the
city nearly to the castle at Miramare. It is the beach where the
Triestini spend their summers, with water access, restrooms, and
changing areas for swimmers. It can be reached by bus #6 which stops at
Piazza Oberdan and the Trieste Centrale train station.
San Giusto Cathedral and Castle – A walk on the Castle ramparts and
bastions gives a complete panorama of the city of Trieste, its hills
and the sea. The Cathedral is free, but donations are appreciated. A
small fee will grant access to the church’s campanile, which provides
an even more beautiful view. Be on the lookout for the remains of the
Roman monumental gateway inside the Campanile. €1 for just the
castle ramparts and bastion.
Surrounding Area
Across the countryside you can find a local tradition that must be
mentioned, “osmica”. Osmicas are wineries predominatly located on the
Karst Plateau, small beautiful farms where you will find different
kinds of home-made salami, cheese and ham, and a characteristic red
wine. Opened for only certain months of the year, the owe their
Slovenian name to the word “osem” (meaning “eight” in Slovenian”, as
under the Austro-Hungarian Empire the farmers were allowed to open them
for eight days per year). And maybe along the Riviera (Muggia,
Sistiana, Duino) you can find some nice places to sleep, too.
Grotta Gigante – a Giant cave claimed to be the biggest tourist cave in
the world (since 1997 in the Guinness book of records). 15 km by city
bus #42 or the tram of Opicina then 1 hour walking along the path #26.
The enormous hall is 107 metres high, 280 metres long and 65 metres
large. The multi-lingual guided tour takes about 45 minutes. You can
also visit the Museum of Speleology is near the cave and besides the
various speleological, geological and paleontological finds it also
includes some valuable archeological pieces and a poster collection of
the cave. Two wide parking lots are available on the outside. Another
cave and World Heritage Site, Skocjan Caves in Slovenia is located just
a few minutes from Bassovica, one of the suburbs above Trieste.
Trips to Austria (2 hours by car, 3 hours by train) are possible from Trieste via either Udine or Nova Gorica.
Rijeka, Croatia
Rijeka is the principal seaport of Croatia, located on Kvarner Bay,
an inlet of the Adriatic Sea. It has 128,735 inhabitants (2011) with
greater city area reaching up to 200,000 and is Croatia’s third largest
city. The best way to see Rijeka’s Cultural and historical
monuments is to follow the tourist path that gathers all of the most
important sights for this town and its history. Most of them are
accessible by foot, as they are mostly located in or near the city
centre, but to see Trsat Castle you will need to take a short car/bus
ride. Other option, the more adventurous one, is to climb 561 Trsat
stairs that lead from city centre to Trsat. The Trsat Castle is worth
the effort.
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