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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.







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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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