Stock Exchange Square, Trieste

Mollari's neo-classical design, erected at the turn of the 19th century, utilized the talents of others to fulfill his dream.
A. Bosa and his son were responsible for the bas reliefs symbolizing Industry, Trade, Plenty and Shipping. Pretty relevant seeing it is the original stock exchange building, now superceded by the one next door.
The ground floor statues represent Asia, Mercury, Vulcan, Europe, America and Africa.
The upper level ones depict the Genius of Trieste, Neptune, Minerva and the Danube.
Yep, I still like it!

I've reached a decision. Perhaps it's not a momentous one but, I did make it. I've decided this is my favourite commercial building in the whole world.
Certainly it's not the largest by a long shot, then again it's not the smallest either! So, I hear you think, why does this crazy man rate this building so highly. In a word, proportion.
Mollari's masterpiece has an exquisite balance of things that I like; from the statues at the base to the bas reliefs, shuttered windows and frescoes above, all preceded by those standout Doric columns with clock set atop, it has this wonderful feel about it. I returned a couple of times in my wanderings just to see if my initial feelings were still apparent. They were.

What looks like a religious Greek temple in doric style is in fact the very unreligious palace of the old stockmarket. On the façade you can still see the effigies of many Greek gods and goddesses: minerva, mercurius, and vulcano. Thesee days the building is used as a chamber of commerce for the city of Trieste

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The statue of Austrian emperor Leopold 1st (1673) dominates Piazza della Borsa ("Stock Exchange square") from the top of a high column.