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Trieste is the easternmost city in northern Italy, and its location on the trade routes between Latin, Germanic and Slavic merchants has given it a rich history. For example, the city belonged to the Habsburg monarchy for centuries from 1382 to 1918, and it was Austria-Hungary’s fourth largest city for a period.
In the beautiful center of Trieste you can see beautiful buildings and elegant squares with stunning Piazza Unità d’Italia as the most famous. Here are fine buildings on three sides, and in the side streets there are many other places of interest. For example, you should see the Grand Canal in the Borgo Teresiano neighborhood.
As a big city, Trieste is a place where there is never a long distance between the highlights, and the city’s waterfront and promenades are great recreational assets. To the north there are lovely beaches that are easily reached from the center, and this is also where you can visit the Miramare castle.
There are many excursion options in the area around Trieste. Slovenia is a few minutes drive east and south of the city, and here are both cozy towns, beaches and mountains with beautiful caves. You can also drive a little further south, where Croatia is located with several sights such as Pula on the Istrian peninsula.
Piazza Unità d’Italia is Trieste’s central square. It is named after the Italian collection in the 1800s, and it lies down towards the water as one of Europe’s most elegant squares with distinguished buildings on three sides. However, the construction of the square does not date from Trieste’s Italian time, but rather from the time when Trieste was the most important port city in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
In the time of the Roman Empire, there was a sea in the place where Piazza Unità d’Italia is located today. Over time, the harbor of the time became sandy, and the city was expanded by filling in the area. In the Middle Ages, a square had arisen here, but it was smaller than today and lay within Trieste’s fortress walls and thus not down to the Gulf of Trieste.
The major change to the area and the city occurred from the 18th century, when the designation of Trieste as a free port in 1719 led to an enormous economic boom in the city. The population and the economy grew, and space had to be made for that. Austrian Maria Theresia had Trieste’s city walls demolished, and she initiated the construction of Theresienvorstadt, which in Italian is called Borgo Teresiano.
With the expansion of the city and its new economic capacity, the district’s central square was changed and expanded, and its current appearance dates from the end of the 1800s, when the ensemble of buildings with neoclassical and baroque constructions along three sides of the square was completed.
The central building facing the sea is Trieste’s town hall, the Palazzo del Municipio, built in a grand eclectic style by the architect Giuseppe Bruni in the years 1872-1875. Closest to the sea, you can see the government building Palazzo del Governo from 1901-1905 to the north and Palazzo del Lloyd Triestino from 1883 to the south. The name Lloyd Triestino comes from the fact that the house was originally owned by the shipping company Österreichischer Lloyd. It was designed by Heinrich von Ferstel, who was also the architect behind the Votivkirche in Vienna.
One can also note the hotel Grand Hotel Duchi d’Aosta, which is one of Trieste’s finest hotels. The origins go back to the 200s, when there was a hostel called Hospitium Magnum on this site. In the 18th century, the Hotel Osteria Grande became on the same site, and in 1873 the current hotel was built by the architect Eugenio Geiringer.
Cattedrale di San Giusto is the name of Trieste’s cathedral, which has the status of cathedral basilica. The cathedral is the most important Catholic church in the city, and it is located on a hill and thus in a dominant position. The first church on this site was a 5th century building that was built on top of an earlier Roman construction.
The current cathedral was created by merging the two existing churches, Chiesa di Santa Maria and Chiesa di San Giusto. It happened in the years 1302-1320 to give Trieste an actual cathedral. Work on the bell tower continued until 1343, and throughout the rest of the century the church was built to varying degrees.
The cathedral’s facade is simple in design with a large rose window as the dominant decoration. If you look at the facade and the bell tower of the church, you can see that old Roman building stones were also used for the construction; for example, the entrance portal is created using an old funerary monument. There are also three bronze busts on pedestals set into the facade. They depict the bishops Enea Silvio Piccolomini, who became Pope Pius II, Rinaldo Scarlicchio and Andrea Rapicio.
When you enter the church room, you are greeted by an interior that, like the facade, appears simple. However, there are both preserved frescoes from the 14th century and mosaics, relics and other decorations. The two lateral apses, corresponding respectively to the Basilica of Santa Maria and the Chapel of San Giusto, are for example decorated with magnificent mosaics, which were executed by artists from Venice and Constantinople.
Santa Maria’s apse bears a magnificent depiction of the Theotókos seated on a throne on a gold background with the baby Jesus in her arms and flanked by two archangels. In the apse of San Giusto you can see Christ Pantokrator in a traditional Byzantine iconic style. Much of the church’s other art consists of partially preserved frescoes.
Castello di Miramare is a castle situated picturesquely along the Gulf of Trieste north of Trieste. The castle is one of the area’s best-known buildings and one of Trieste’s landmarks. The small castle was built 1856-1860 according to a design by the Austrian architect and engineer Carl Junker.
The exquisite style and location were due to the fact that the castle was built for Austria’s Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian and his wife Charlotte. Ferdinand Maximilian was the brother of the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I, and he himself became Mexican Emperor with the name Maximilian I from 1864 to 1867. Maximilian had come to Trieste in 1850, and from here he went to sea. In 1854 he became commander of the Imperial Navy and he decided to move to the coastal city.
According to tradition, the Archduke had been caught in a storm in the Gulf of Trieste and sought shelter from the storm in Grignano. On that occasion, Ferdinand Maximilian is said to have chosen the rock ornament as his future home. The place was called Miramare, and the Archduke acquired it in 1856, after which construction started.
The architecture was a mixture with inspiration from contemporary eclectic styles in Austria, Germany and England.
The Archduke himself was very involved in the interior design, and one detail is the recreation of the interior of the frigate Novara, with which Ferdinand Maximilian sailed in 1857-1859 as commander of the fleet. You can also see decorations with motifs from the Mexican Empire, and overall the interior is both interesting and original from the 1800s.
At Castello di Miramare you can also see and enjoy Carl Junker’s castle park. The park is located on a 22-hectare area with many fine facilities and a view of the Gulf of Trieste and the Adriatic Sea. The park, like the castle, was arranged according to the Archduke’s wishes and thoughts, and they were, among other things, a closeness to nature. The park was laid out as a private garden, with Ferdinand Maximilian regularly opening it to the public.
Maximilian died as Mexican Emperor in 1867, and Charlotte left for Belgium, where she originally came from. Castello di Miramare remained in the ownership of the Habsburgs, and among many visits and visitors was Emperor Franz Joseph’s official visit to Trieste in 1882, where he lived. In 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and German Emperor Wilhelm visit the castle.
Trieste became Italian after World War I treaties, and the Italian government gave the castle to Duke Amedeo of Savoy-Aosta, who lived here until 1937, when he became Viceroy and Governor-General of Italian East Africa. After the Second World War, both Castello di Marimare and the castle’s park were opened to visitors, and on a trip here you can see the exciting house and beautiful interior.
The Grand Canal is a harbor canal that forms a central part of the Borgo Teresiano neighborhood in central Trieste. The canal was then also laid out as an important part of the urban plan for the quarter, which was designed and built according to a right-angled pattern. The Grand Canal was dug in 1754-1756 under the direction of the Ventian Matteo Pirona, and the new canal and town plan opened Trieste’s development outside the old city walls.
The canal was built so that merchant ships could dock at its quays with goods for the city, thus the Grand Canal was a major asset in Borgo Teresiano and Trieste. Originally, the canal ended in front of the site where the church Chiesa di Sant’Antonio Nuovo is located today. However, the inner part was completed in 1934 and transformed into the square Piazza Sant’Antonio.
Today, there is a beautiful canal environment along the Grand Canal, and along the water you can see several interesting buildings. At the entrance to the canal, the Palazzo Carciotti from 1805 is to the south and the so-called red skyscraper, Il Grattacielo Rosso, from 1928 to the north. Next to Il Grattacielo Rosso is Palazzo Gopcevich from 1850, and at the end of the canal you can see the churches Chiesa di Sant’Antonio Nuovo and Chiesa di San Spiridione.
The Faro della Vittoria is a lighthouse that stands high above Trieste on the Poggio di Gretta hill like a magnificent monument shining over the Gulf of Trieste. With a height of 68 meters, the lighthouse is one of the tallest in the world. There was a reason for the height, and that was that they wanted to build a victory monument that was taller than Berlin’s Siegessäule at 62 meters.
The idea for the Faro della Vittoria was conceived during World War I and the idea was to build it at Pola. However, the current location was chosen because the foundations of the Austrian Fort Kressich from the 1850s could be used. The lighthouse was built to the design of the architect Arduino Berlam from 1923 and it was inaugurated by King Vittorio Emanuele III in 1927.
The lighthouse was built as a colossal classicist column on top of the Austrian foundation. At the top of the column there is a viewing platform, a lantern house and a 7.2 meter tall statue of the goddess of victory Victoria at the top. The statue was prepared by the sculptor Giovanni Mayer. If you choose to take the 285 steps to the top, you will be rewarded with a beautiful view.
The Chiesa di Sant’Antonio Nuovo is a beautiful church located at the end of the Grand Canal, which is a small canal in the Borgo Teresiano neighborhood in the center of Trieste. There was a small private chapel on the same site until the mid-18th century, when it was opened to the public. A large flow of churchgoers made a larger church necessary, and a baroque church was built in 1771.
The baroque church also became too small, and already in 1808 another new building was adopted, where a neoclassical church was proposed. It was built in the years 1823-1849 as Trieste’s largest Catholic church. The inauguration took place in 1842, and at that time the Grand Canal passed right in front of the church, nicknamed Nuovo, because it replaced an earlier church of the same name.
The facade is dominated by six Ionic columns, and further up you can see a balustrade with Francesco Bosa’s six statues of martyrs from Trieste. They depict San Sergio, San Servolo, Sant’Apollinare, San Giusto, Santa Eufemia and Santa Tecla. The church room has a simple design, and here you can see a number of works of art such as Passione dei santi martiri aquileiesi by Ludovico Lipparini from 1840 and La presentazione al tempio by Felice Schiavoni from 1841.
The Tempio Israelitico di Trieste is the central synagogue of Trieste, and it is one of the largest synagogues in Europe. It was built in the years 1908-1912 as a replacement for four previous synagogues, which from the 18th century had constituted the Jewish temples in the city.
The synagogue was designed by Austrian architects Ruggero Berlam and Arduino Berlam, and they designed the temple with large dimensions for the growing congregation, which by 1938 had grown to nearly 6,000 members. The synagogue was closed in 1942 and used as a warehouse during World War II until it could open after the end of the war.
The size and structure of the building clearly define it as a synagogue from the emancipation of the Jews, which lasted from the end of the 18th century until the First World War. It was a period when the Jews went from being a separate group with fewer rights than other citizens to becoming equal with other inhabitants.
Inside, the main prayer room was laid out with a rectangular ground plan that divides into three naves. At the end you can see the majestic apse of the synagogue and its vault with golden mosaic. There are also geometric patterns, trees and stars and other bands on the large arches that quote verses from the Book of Psalms and show the trees of life.
Chiesa di San Spiridione is Trieste’s Serbian Orthodox Church with the formal name Tempio serbo-ortodosso della Santissima Trinità e di San Spiridione. The Orthodox congregation dates back to 1751, when Empress Maria Theresa introduced religious freedom for Orthodox Christians. Before the current church, there was an earlier one that was built in 1753.
The Chiesa di San Spiridione was designed by the architect Carlo Maciachini in 1869 and is beautifully situated at the end of the Grand Canal. The style is Byzantine, and the exterior of the building is characterized by the central dome and four slightly lower bell towers. You can also see mosaic decorations on the outer walls, and the facade is adorned with nine large statues by the Milanese sculptor Emilio Bisi.
The interior is richly decorated after Byzantine cannons. The church room is completely decorated with oil paintings that imitate mosaic. There is also a beautiful iconostasis with four icons of Saint Spyridon, the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus, Christ the King and the Annunciation. They are covered in gold and silver and made in Russia in the early 19th century. You can also notice the large silver lamp that hangs at the entrance. It was a gift from Paul Romanov, who later became Tsar Paul I of Russia.
Arco di Riccardo is a preserved Roman gate believed to have been built under the emperor Octavian Augustus in the years 33-32 BC. The reason for the gate’s name is not known, just as its function is not clear either. Some sources mention the gate as one of the entrances to a shrine to the Magna Mater. However, there is also a tradition that tells that the name of the gate comes from Richard the Lionheart, who was held captive in Trieste during the return journey from the Holy Land.
Today the gate stands alone in the streets of the center of Trieste. It is a single arch, 7.2 meters high, 5.3 meters wide and 2 meters deep, and it is joined with a newer house that hides part of the gate. When you see it, you might wonder if the name comes from the main street Cardo Maximus, to which the gate may have led.
Teatro Romano is a Roman theater in Trieste, located at the foot of the Colle di San Giusto hill on the edge of the old city. However, at the time of construction, which began at the end of the century BC, the theater was outside the city walls and on the coast that then reached this area.
The Teatro Romano was expanded at the beginning of the 100s, and the natural slope of the hill on the site was used during construction. The capacity is estimated to have been up to 6,000 spectators. Over the centuries, buildings were built in the area, so the theater gradually disappeared. However, it was identified again in 1814 and excavated in 1938 and exposed during Mussolini’s rule.
Today, the theater is located beautifully and atmospherically between the streets of modern Trieste. It lies quite well preserved with the audience row, stage and many other parts of the substantial construction. You can also see finds from the excavation of the old theatre. However, they are not exhibited in the theater itself, but can be seen at the Lapidario Tergestino in the Castello di San Giusto.
Castello di San Giusto is a fortification that was built over several centuries from 1471 to 1630. The castle was originally established as a residence for the emperor’s sent leaders of Trieste, and later it was used as barracks. It stands today as one of Trieste’s landmarks, and it is named after St. Justus, the city’s patron saint.
The history of the castle started with Venice’s construction of a wall and a small fortress during their occupation of Trieste in 1368. It was on the ruins of the Venetian castle that Emperor Friedrich III established the current Castello di San Giusto. Venice regained dominion over Trieste in 1508, where they wanted to expand the castle. However, it only became Bastione Veneto before the Venetians withdrew from the city.
The construction of bastions around the castle continued in several stages throughout the 16th century and until 1630. In these centuries, Bastione Lalio and Bastione Pomis were established, and the Castello di San Giusto was thus completed. The castle then continued as the seat of the governor with the title Capitano, who was appointed by the emperor.
The facility has been owned by the city of Trieste since the 1930s. Today, the Castello di San Giusto functions both as a historic castle and as the museum Museo del Castello di San Giusto e l’Armeria. The old castle is also used for exhibitions, theater performances, concerts and other cultural events. In Bastione Lalio is the Lapidario Tergestino with a collection of ancient Roman sculptures, reliefs and other effects from Trieste and the city’s surroundings.
Piran is a town picturesquely situated as one of Slovenia’s few coastal towns on the tip of a peninsula. The Piran Peninsula was settled in the 100s BC, when the area was part of the Roman Empire. Over time, the city has been mainly influenced by belonging to Venice and Austria.
Piran’s central square is called Tartinijev trg. It is named after the composer and musician Giuseppe Tartini, of whom a statue was erected in 1896. The square was originally a harbor basin outside the city walls. In the Middle Ages, the harbor streets were built up, and the bustle increased continuously. In 1894, the harbor basin was filled up, and the square became a reality.
From Tartinijev trg, the streets in the center start, and to the west you reach the tip of the peninsula. North of the square you can see Saint George’s Church/Cerkev svetega Jurija (Adamičeva ulica), whose tower is inspired by Venetian architecture. The church is beautifully located at the top of the town, and the richly decorated interior is also worth a trip.
The city of Koper is one of Slovenia’s few cities by the sea, and it is the country’s largest port. Immediately north of Koper is Italy, and over time the Italian influence has also been great and a very active and clear part of history. Today, Koper is officially bilingual, and here both Slovenian and Italian are spoken, in which case the city is called Capodistria.
In ancient Greece, Koper was called Aegida, and since then the well-located city has been subject to several kingdoms. For many centuries the city traded with Venice, and it also became the Venetian capital of Istria. In more recent times, Koper belonged to Italy after World War I, and after World War II it was part of the Free State of Trieste, which was divided between Italy and Yugoslavia in 1954.
Koper’s old town is worth seeing. The Loža/Loggia (Titov trg 1) is a distinguished Venetian mansion dating back to 1462. The Praetorian Palace/Pretorska palača (Titov trg 3) is the city’s town hall, a function that has been located here since 1254. The current mansion is in Gothic, Venetian style and begun in 1452.
In the central square you can also see the Assumption Church of Saint Mary/Župnijska cerkev Marije Vnebovzete (Titov trg), whose history dates back to the 12th century. The church tower is a clear profile in the city’s skyline.
Poreč is one of Croatia’s nicest cities, and in addition to a beautiful location, there are a number of sights to see. You can also just enjoy a walk in the atmospheric streets of the center; some streets that are still as laid out under Roman town planning.
The biggest attraction in the city is Euphrasdius Basilika/Eufrazijeva basilika, which is on UNESCO’s list of world cultural heritage. The basilica was built over several stages between the 200s and 500s. Most famous are the beautiful mosaics that were made in the 200s. The mosaics are considered to be some of the world’s most beautiful preserved from the Byzantine era.
The Sinčič mansion, where the Poreč Museum is housed, is also worth a visit. You can also go to the Marafor square, which was the city’s historic Roman forum. Here are interesting ruins of a Temple of Neptune and a Temple of Mars.
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and it is the economic, political and cultural center of the country. And th city offers many sights and activities to visitors. The center of Ljubljana is cozy and picturesque with narrow streets, elegant churches, beautiful architecture and fine museums.
The city castle is built on the top of Ljubljana, and for centuries it has been an important part of city life and history. The castle was a part of the defense of Ljubljana already from the 1100s, and it has been a residence palace as well. From the castle hill you can see all over the Slovenian capital and thereby get a good overview of the city.
Of Slovenia’s many caves, Postojnska Jama is the most exciting and at the same time one of the most beautiful in Europe. The cave is a cave system located in the mountains southwest of Ljubljana. During a visit you can experience a large complex of stalactite caves; one more breathtaking than the other. In total, there are over 20 kilometers of caves, passages and caves in the system.
As a visitor, you ride a mini-train the first long stretches into the most beautiful caves, and here you walk around and see, among other things, the Kongressalen/Kongresna Dvorana and the Concert Hall/Koncertna Dvorana, which with its million-year-old stalactite formations of stalactites and stalagmites is a unique experience. The formations have all been formed from single drops from the ceiling, and it is a process that is still ongoing.
The so-called human fish also lives in the caves. It is a vertebrate that got its name from the light skin color and its fingers and toes. The human fish can be seen in an aquarium in the cave. At the exit you can also see the site’s underground river.
The caves in Postojna are the most marketed and commercial in Slovenia. There are also other caves in the area, and if you want to visit some caves in a more natural setting, you can visit Škocjanske jame (Matavun 12, Divača), which is located in the area between Rijeka, Trieste and Postojna. Here you can experience a number of stalactite caves that have been included in UNESCO’s list of world natural heritage. In the area outside the caves, there is also wonderful nature with cliffs and canyons.
Via Giulia 75/3
ilgiulia.it
Via Flavia di Stramare 119
montedoroshoppingcenter.it
Via Bartolomeo d’Alviano 23, Via Italo Svevo 14/16
torrideuropa.com
Via San Nicolò, Via Mazzini, Viale XX Settembre, Via di Cavana, Corso Italia
Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Trieste
Via dei Tominz 4
museostorianaturaletrieste.it
Acquario Marino
Molo Pescheria 2
aquariomarinotrieste.it
Spiaggia di Barcola
Lungomare Benedetto Croce
Science Centre Immaginario Scientifico Trieste
Riva Massimiliano e Carlotta 15
immaginarioscientifico.it
Trieste, Italy
Overview of Trieste
Trieste is the easternmost city in northern Italy, and its location on the trade routes between Latin, Germanic and Slavic merchants has given it a rich history. For example, the city belonged to the Habsburg monarchy for centuries from 1382 to 1918, and it was Austria-Hungary’s fourth largest city for a period.
In the beautiful center of Trieste you can see beautiful buildings and elegant squares with stunning Piazza Unità d’Italia as the most famous. Here are fine buildings on three sides, and in the side streets there are many other places of interest. For example, you should see the Grand Canal in the Borgo Teresiano neighborhood.
About the Whitehorse travel guide
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The Grand Canal is a harbor canal that forms a central part of the Borgo Teresiano neighborhood in central Trieste. The canal was then also laid out as an important part of the urban plan for the quarter, which was designed and built according to a right-angled pattern. The Grand Canal was dug in 1754-1756 under the direction of the Ventian Matteo Pirona, and the new canal and town plan opened Trieste’s development outside the old city walls.
The canal was built so that merchant ships could dock at its quays with goods for the city, thus the Grand Canal was a major asset in Borgo Teresiano and Trieste. Originally, the canal ended in front of the site where the church Chiesa di Sant’Antonio Nuovo is located today. However, the inner part was completed in 1934 and transformed into the square Piazza Sant’Antonio.
Today, there is a beautiful canal environment along the Grand Canal, and along the water you can see several interesting buildings. At the entrance to the canal, the Palazzo Carciotti from 1805 is to the south and the so-called red skyscraper, Il Grattacielo Rosso, from 1928 to the north. Next to Il Grattacielo Rosso is Palazzo Gopcevich from 1850, and at the end of the canal you can see the churches Chiesa di Sant’Antonio Nuovo and Chiesa di San Spiridione.
The Faro della Vittoria is a lighthouse that stands high above Trieste on the Poggio di Gretta hill like a magnificent monument shining over the Gulf of Trieste. With a height of 68 meters, the lighthouse is one of the tallest in the world. There was a reason for the height, and that was that they wanted to build a victory monument that was taller than Berlin’s Siegessäule at 62 meters.
The idea for the Faro della Vittoria was conceived during World War I and the idea was to build it at Pola. However, the current location was chosen because the foundations of the Austrian Fort Kressich from the 1850s could be used. The lighthouse was built to the design of the architect Arduino Berlam from 1923 and it was inaugurated by King Vittorio Emanuele III in 1927.
The lighthouse was built as a colossal classicist column on top of the Austrian foundation. At the top of the column there is a viewing platform, a lantern house and a 7.2 meter tall statue of the goddess of victory Victoria at the top. The statue was prepared by the sculptor Giovanni Mayer. If you choose to take the 285 steps to the top, you will be rewarded with a beautiful view.
The Chiesa di Sant’Antonio Nuovo is a beautiful church located at the end of the Grand Canal, which is a small canal in the Borgo Teresiano neighborhood in the center of Trieste. There was a small private chapel on the same site until the mid-18th century, when it was opened to the public. A large flow of churchgoers made a larger church necessary, and a baroque church was built in 1771.
The baroque church also became too small, and already in 1808 another new building was adopted, where a neoclassical church was proposed. It was built in the years 1823-1849 as Trieste’s largest Catholic church. The inauguration took place in 1842, and at that time the Grand Canal passed right in front of the church, nicknamed Nuovo, because it replaced an earlier church of the same name.
The facade is dominated by six Ionic columns, and further up you can see a balustrade with Francesco Bosa’s six statues of martyrs from Trieste. They depict San Sergio, San Servolo, Sant’Apollinare, San Giusto, Santa Eufemia and Santa Tecla. The church room has a simple design, and here you can see a number of works of art such as Passione dei santi martiri aquileiesi by Ludovico Lipparini from 1840 and La presentazione al tempio by Felice Schiavoni from 1841.
The Tempio Israelitico di Trieste is the central synagogue of Trieste, and it is one of the largest synagogues in Europe. It was built in the years 1908-1912 as a replacement for four previous synagogues, which from the 18th century had constituted the Jewish temples in the city.
The synagogue was designed by Austrian architects Ruggero Berlam and Arduino Berlam, and they designed the temple with large dimensions for the growing congregation, which by 1938 had grown to nearly 6,000 members. The synagogue was closed in 1942 and used as a warehouse during World War II until it could open after the end of the war.
The size and structure of the building clearly define it as a synagogue from the emancipation of the Jews, which lasted from the end of the 18th century until the First World War. It was a period when the Jews went from being a separate group with fewer rights than other citizens to becoming equal with other inhabitants.
Inside, the main prayer room was laid out with a rectangular ground plan that divides into three naves. At the end you can see the majestic apse of the synagogue and its vault with golden mosaic. There are also geometric patterns, trees and stars and other bands on the large arches that quote verses from the Book of Psalms and show the trees of life.
Chiesa di San Spiridione is Trieste’s Serbian Orthodox Church with the formal name Tempio serbo-ortodosso della Santissima Trinità e di San Spiridione. The Orthodox congregation dates back to 1751, when Empress Maria Theresa introduced religious freedom for Orthodox Christians. Before the current church, there was an earlier one that was built in 1753.
The Chiesa di San Spiridione was designed by the architect Carlo Maciachini in 1869 and is beautifully situated at the end of the Grand Canal. The style is Byzantine, and the exterior of the building is characterized by the central dome and four slightly lower bell towers. You can also see mosaic decorations on the outer walls, and the facade is adorned with nine large statues by the Milanese sculptor Emilio Bisi.
The interior is richly decorated after Byzantine cannons. The church room is completely decorated with oil paintings that imitate mosaic. There is also a beautiful iconostasis with four icons of Saint Spyridon, the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus, Christ the King and the Annunciation. They are covered in gold and silver and made in Russia in the early 19th century. You can also notice the large silver lamp that hangs at the entrance. It was a gift from Paul Romanov, who later became Tsar Paul I of Russia.
Arco di Riccardo is a preserved Roman gate believed to have been built under the emperor Octavian Augustus in the years 33-32 BC. The reason for the gate’s name is not known, just as its function is not clear either. Some sources mention the gate as one of the entrances to a shrine to the Magna Mater. However, there is also a tradition that tells that the name of the gate comes from Richard the Lionheart, who was held captive in Trieste during the return journey from the Holy Land.
Today the gate stands alone in the streets of the center of Trieste. It is a single arch, 7.2 meters high, 5.3 meters wide and 2 meters deep, and it is joined with a newer house that hides part of the gate. When you see it, you might wonder if the name comes from the main street Cardo Maximus, to which the gate may have led.
Teatro Romano is a Roman theater in Trieste, located at the foot of the Colle di San Giusto hill on the edge of the old city. However, at the time of construction, which began at the end of the century BC, the theater was outside the city walls and on the coast that then reached this area.
The Teatro Romano was expanded at the beginning of the 100s, and the natural slope of the hill on the site was used during construction. The capacity is estimated to have been up to 6,000 spectators. Over the centuries, buildings were built in the area, so the theater gradually disappeared. However, it was identified again in 1814 and excavated in 1938 and exposed during Mussolini’s rule.
Today, the theater is located beautifully and atmospherically between the streets of modern Trieste. It lies quite well preserved with the audience row, stage and many other parts of the substantial construction. You can also see finds from the excavation of the old theatre. However, they are not exhibited in the theater itself, but can be seen at the Lapidario Tergestino in the Castello di San Giusto.
Castello di San Giusto is a fortification that was built over several centuries from 1471 to 1630. The castle was originally established as a residence for the emperor’s sent leaders of Trieste, and later it was used as barracks. It stands today as one of Trieste’s landmarks, and it is named after St. Justus, the city’s patron saint.
The history of the castle started with Venice’s construction of a wall and a small fortress during their occupation of Trieste in 1368. It was on the ruins of the Venetian castle that Emperor Friedrich III established the current Castello di San Giusto. Venice regained dominion over Trieste in 1508, where they wanted to expand the castle. However, it only became Bastione Veneto before the Venetians withdrew from the city.
The construction of bastions around the castle continued in several stages throughout the 16th century and until 1630. In these centuries, Bastione Lalio and Bastione Pomis were established, and the Castello di San Giusto was thus completed. The castle then continued as the seat of the governor with the title Capitano, who was appointed by the emperor.
The facility has been owned by the city of Trieste since the 1930s. Today, the Castello di San Giusto functions both as a historic castle and as the museum Museo del Castello di San Giusto e l’Armeria. The old castle is also used for exhibitions, theater performances, concerts and other cultural events. In Bastione Lalio is the Lapidario Tergestino with a collection of ancient Roman sculptures, reliefs and other effects from Trieste and the city’s surroundings.
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