Trieste

Trieste is a port city and a crossroads of nations where a host of Italian, Austro-Hungarian and Slovenian influences can be seen. It’s located on a slender strip of Italian territory in south-eastern Friuli Venezia Giulia, between the Adriatic Sea and the border with Slovenia.

The spellbinding surroundings and the wealth of art and history make it a hugely interesting destination that has inspired top writers such as Rainer Maria Rilke, James Joyce and Italo Svevo.

Places of interest

• Piazza Unità is a seafront square where many musicians have performed.
• Composer Giuseppe Verdi was inspired by the theatre now known as the Teatro Verdi, which was built near the sea in 1801.
• Literary salon: the long-standing gathering places are Caffè Tommaseo (a good spot to read or have a chat) and Caffè San Marco, which is reminiscent of Viennese cafés and serves traditional pastries and confectionery.
• The Municipal Art and History Museum.
• The Sartorio Museum.
• The Morpurgo Museum.
• The modern art gallery in the Revoltella Museum.
• The Municipal Natural History Museum.
• The 14^th century Cathedral of San Giusto, which is on the hill of the same name.
• The Greek Orthodox Church of San Nicolò, which is home to exceptional golden icons.
• The Serbian Orthodox Church of San Spiridione, which is steeped in Byzantine splendour.
• The Synagogue, which is one of the largest Jewish places of worship in Europe.
• The International Centre for Theoretical Physics.
• The Synchrotron Light Laboratory.
• Scientific Image Laboratory.
• AREA Science Park.
• Miramare Castle in the Grignano bay was the home of Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian (younger brother of the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I) and his wife Charlotte.

Things to taste

Austrian, Veneto and Friulian influences are fused in Trieste’s cuisine.

• Jota is a type of stew made with cabbage, beans, pork and potatoes.
• Zuf is a polenta-based dish.
• “Gnochi de pan” and “Gnochi de susini” are types of dumplings that are made with bread and plums respectively.
• Granseola alla Triestina is a local dish made with spider crab.
• Terrano, Malvasia and Refosco are some of the traditional wines from the Karst Plateau.
• Stronger flavours tend to prevail in the inland Karst areas. Cheese, sausages with sauerkraut, ham hock and baked ham.
• The majority of the cakes and desserts have Austrian or Slovenian origins. Presnitz is made by filling puff pastry with dried fruit. Strucolo is a type of apple strudel. Pinza is a type of sweet bread. Gubana is a cake made with nuts and dried fruit.