Wandering around in Trieste

I got up early in the morning, sat in my car and drove off. Following the motorway past Ljubljana, Postojna and Sežana I’ve reached the Italian boarder in two and a half hours. I already began to see the bay of Trieste in front of me and was just a few turns away from driving downhill to the city. All the talk about Italians being a different kind of drivers are fully true, as I got to see a countless times after crossing the state border. I still haven’t figured out, what’s the purpose of traffic signalization in Italian intersections. Also, it might be a good idea to leave your car in neutral, after parking in Italy. Following direction I was able to get to an empty parking place, which did cost a lot! I’ve paid 1.65€ per hour to be parked there!

I walked to the main square, to the Piazze Unità d'Italia, which really takes your breath away. It’s a large rectangular square, surrounded by mighty buildings on three sides and a road to the forth side – with the sea just across it, opening the view to the great blue yonder. Opposite the sea is the town hall, with the most detailed façade on the square, and a clock giving the city its real mark. To its left is the Palazzo Chigi, also called the Palazzo del Governo, which is the seat of the Italian government since 1961. On the other side of the square is the Lloyd palace, which is still the home to the insurance agency carrying the same name – the largest naval insurance, which had an important role in the past development of the city. In the times of Austro-Hungarian monarchy, Trieste was the only Austrian port (other ports along the today Croatian coast were on the Hungarian part of the empire). From the pier I watched the mighty coastal city, that really impressed me. Not just the city square, but many other palaces as well, such as the Aedes and Carciotti. Walking the coast, you can’t miss the aquarium inviting you in, and the statues depicting a life in a harbour town… you can even visit the houses, where the harbour workers use to live. 

Near the Carciotti palace, the one with the green dome, I left the coastline and headed towards the city centre. Crossing the canal Grande, the only one in Trst, I met James Joyce. Turning the clock back to the times of transition between the 19th and 20th century, he’d be a regular guest of this then cosmopolitan city. Today his statue greets visitors. But Joyce is not the only one, who got his inspiration in this city. IT was very important to many giants of Slovenian literature as well, such as Ivan Cankar, Ivan Tavčar, Dragotin Kette…

In the city centre we find the remains of a Roman amphitheatre from the 1st century, giving evidence the site was settled in the times of Ancient Rome already. The first settlers came to the hill of San Giusto and made the amphitheatre at the foot of the hill, to enjoy the sporting events, plays and other public events. Close to it is also the Orthodox church, built in the neo-Byzantium style – the Chiesa Servo-ortodossa di San Spiridione, a neo-classical church - Chiesa di San Antonio taumaturgo o nuovo, and the interior design museum - Civico museo Morpurgo. Above the city – driving out of it – you’ll see the main University office building, built in a typical neoclassical style, representative of the Mussolini’s Fascist regime. The city also features many art galleries, museums, expensive cafes… with many sights worth seeing being free of entrance. 

In the afternoon I drove 6km out of the city to the most beautiful mansion I’ve ever seen – the two story manor of the grand duke Ferdinand Maximillian named Mira Mare. At first it was designed to have an additional floor, but the duke ran out of funds, so the wasn’t as tall. Still it seems perfect to the last detail. After the death of Maximillian Mira Mare became the residence of the Habsburg family and today it is a museum. Since Maximillian loved to sail, he brought many exotic plants with him, which can now be seen in the 22 hectares large botanical garden of Mira Mare.