Trieste Favorites

Favorite thing: Trieste is a cracking little place, we stopped there for 4 days while my ship visited with the rest of the NATO force.

loads of nice little bars and as in most countries an Irish bar !! the food is excellent and the prices are very resonable indeed.

I took 7 people with me cycling from Trieste to Koper in Slovenia the day the ship sailed to meet it back into port in Koper, there really wernt any cycle routes as such and finidng the info on the net proved to be a nightmere.

However in true Naval style i managed to Cuff a route, cycling through trieste town centre following the signs for Slovenia. Then we managed to navigate ono the AutoBahn NOT RECOMMENDED BY ANY MEANS!!

we got off at the earliest opportunity to follow a sign called Muggai. From there we picked up a cycle path called D8 which took us all the way to Koper.

We took our passports but didnt need to show them on the border control point.

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Favorite thing: Arriving in Trieste by bus is a real pleasure. Passing the outer industrial area and the swanky yacht marina, you carry on to the very heart of the city and never leave the water's edge. This long promenade ( Riva ) leading to the Bus Station is attractively landscaped with trees and flowers and only the traffic lanes divide it from the piazzas and historic buildings on the other side. Near the Piazza D'Unita D'Italia for example, you leave the square, cross the street and you are right at the sea wall. Here two sections of harbour wall jut out and on one of them, Molo Audace, people are lying full length, sunbathing. At 3.00 p.m. I gave up on the sightseeing and just headed for the sea. All day it had been pulling me like a magnet but the really great thing here is that from most points of the city, you can be at the seafront in a matter of minutes. This morning it was a litttle misty here but now the sea is 50 shades of sapphire and torquoise. Yacht sails symmetricaly frame the horizon and the world and its mother seem to be taking a post-prandial stroll. Definitely a touch of La Dolce Vita here, I think. Right where I am sitting is a wonderful bronze monument showing two people, a scissors and some cloth. Maybe a tribute to the rag trade but why here at the sea wall ? Is it marking the emigration of people involved in this trade ? Whatever its significance it's really striking.

Eventually, the clocks on the twin towers of the nearby church remind me that I must catch a bus. Last impressions of Trieste are all as favourable as the earlier ones and I am really glad I came.

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Favorite thing: Trieste's Canal Grande is a long way removed from its counterpart in Venice and you wont be coming across a Rialto Bridge along this particular stretch of water. It's short and not very impressive but a pleasant addition to the city nonetheless. It leads the eye staright up to the Church of St. Antonio Nuovo and for this view alone it justifies its existence. At around 2.30, exhausted from hours of walking I sat on the edge of Piazza Ponterosso and enjoyed the ambience of the canal. Opposite me the canal side is lined with cafe tables . All shops now seem to have been closed for about two hours so it must still be siesta time. The Italians are definitely fans of the long lunche and every bar and cafe is thronged. In the water are the wavering reflections of the palaces that line the canal and the whole effect is quite Venetian, despite the abscence of the Rialto Bridge. From here I can see the statue of James Joyce crossing the bridge and just at the end of the street is the Sea. It seems to me that everybody strolls here as opposed to rushing. Trieste strikes me as a very laid-back city.

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Favorite thing: I'd never before been inside a Serbian Orhodox Church so I was very pleased to get a chance to visit the Church of San Spiridione in Trieste. It looks Byzantine in style and the blue roofs reminded me of Greek churches but as the exterior on the Canal side was completely covered in scaffolding it was difficult for me to note many of the details. Inside however it was dark and mysterious with flickering candles illuminating silver and gold. This church was opened in 1868 during the period of Slovenian dominance in Trieste. Nearby is one of the largest synagogues in Europe, the Tempio Israelitico and the neo-classical Church of St Antonio Nuovo. These, along with the Greek Orthodox Church Of St Nicholas, reflect the many influences which Trieste has come under during its history: Serbian, Slovenian, Hapsburg, Italian, Venetian........

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Favorite thing: The Borsa Vecchia is one of Trieste's most outstanding buildings and a Chamber of Commerce is absolutely the last thing you expect to find in this type of setting. Walking along the street you think it's a church or an art gallery or possibly a theatre but the clue is in the name of the Piazza and this is actually the Palazzo de Borsa Vecchio. The Old Stock Exchange building ( the new one is next door and looks every inch a poor relation) this has something of the splendour of Greece and Rome about it. It resembles a Greek temple with four Doric columns holding up the portico and the tympaneum on top. On top of the building is a line of statues and underneath are a series of bas-reliefs crossing the second floor. At ground level are another four statues sculpted by various Venetian artists and the whole effect is absolutely stunning. The only thing that lets this building down is its location, just plonked on the side of the street surrounded by the most ordinary and mundane offices and shops.

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Favorite thing: This was definitely my favourite place in Trieste. I love big squares and they don't come much bigger than this. It's absolutely vast and naked of any ornamentation in the centre, which gives an incredible feeling of spaciousness. You can ride a bike here ( with no hands, if you're a smooth Italian male) walk a dog, push a baby sit or stroll, as many older people are doing. In front of the Town Hall, is the Fountain of the Four Continents and every time I passed by, this was occupied by bunches of pigeon-chasing children. But because of the huge area, it's impossible to make this square look crowded and it seems like you can enjoy it in almost solitary splendour. Along the sides are neo-classical Palaces, all of them impressive but one of them, Palazzo Del Governo, gilded in gold frescoes, absolutely beautiful. The civic building at the head of the square has a more ornamnetal facade than the others and a magnificent clock tower. The other end of the square opens directly onto the blue Adriatic, with cruise ships and cranes in plain view. A most unusual and beautiful city square.

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Fondest memory: On the occasion of Christmas 2007, a crib was built near Piazza Unità d'Italia. It's very particular because the Nativity is set in Trieste: behind Mary and Joseph you can actually see, from the left to the right, the basilica di San Giusto, the City Hall building and the Miramare Castle. Behind the crib there was a beautiful Christmas tree that got illuminated in the evening (well, already at 4.30 pm!). You can see it in the third photo.

Favorite thing: Viale XX settembre is a long boulevard and it is very important in the cultural life of Trieste, since most cinemas and the main theatre (Politeama Rossetti, see my tip in the nightlife section) are located here. Moreover, famous writer Italo Svevo was born in this street.
Today, the boulevard looks different from what it looked in this photo: the lower part, from via Carducci to the Rossetti theatre has been completely repaved and is now a fully pedestrian zone. The paving of the upper part, however, is still in bad conditions and hasn't been closed to traffic, since there aren't any cinemas or restaurants there.