Trieste's History of Occupations and Rulers

Cooking shows tout layers of flavors. Splendid cities boast overlays of influence.

That is Trieste: the old Tergeste under the Romans. Then ruled by Goths, Byzantines, Longobards, Franks, a free "Commune" 1060-1202 (some kind of free city without one ruler?), then Venetians, and Habsburgs of Austria 1382-1918. See commemorative coins and a fun website at www.roth37.it/COINS/Trieste/index.

It broke free of Venice in the 1200's, and subsequently allied with Vienna. See .everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1416871.

Numismatists have put their stamp on history. Go to this site's home page (follow the instruction to "Go Home!) and link to all sorts of other histories, stories, many countries - this site is by a many sided numismatist. For numismatism, see library.thinkquest.org/CR0212420/num3: "Become a Numismatist."

Cosmopolitan mix. For a more formal history of Trieste, see triesteit.ags.myareaguide.com/?cityguide=history. We are used to the cosmopolitan mixes in London, Paris, Rome, and in our own country; Trieste has the advantage of a beautiful site and manageable size - partially due to its surrounding bowl of mountain ridges.

The Roman Empire - and San Giusto

Finding your way around a new city - here, just aim up. San Giusto and Roman ruins are at the top of a high hill area, with enough signs. See //www.ts.camcom.it/sangiusto. It if comes up Italian, search for San Giusto Trieste and click on the "translate this page" in your browser first.

There was an original Roman structure, a Capitoline Temple; and on that was built an early Christian basilica in the 6th Century. This was later destroyed, and two churches were built, Lady of the Assumption and San Giusto, and then these were connected. See ruins of the earlier Roman and Christian basilica. showing where they were; and then two churches replaced the basilica, to San Giusto and another to Mary. Using the same search words, scroll down to Trieste.com, translate that page and go. You will see how easy it is to get the gist of history, even when the translation is mechanical and sketchy. Sometimes regular English gets dull. This takes thinking, and is worth the thought.
The canal-waterways, urban chic, see //www.buzzle.com/articles/i-love-touring-italy-trieste. and rim of mountains - but Trieste is also Roman ruins and churches. See //www.edinboro.edu/cwis/marketing/LASTrieste.

The Arts - Novelist Claudio Magris; Cafe-writing

People from Trieste are not Triesters, or Triestans. This article about Claudio Magris, "novelist, essayist, cultural philosopher, professor of German literature," calls him "Triestine." See www.kirjasto.sci.fi/magris. I understand that he is in the running for a Nobel Peace Prize.

We see too little of European writers in our news. Look up Claudio Magris. He is also a translator who prefers working in cafes to a home office: "Magris is determined to continue loving the intricacies of the city, visiting its cafés and writing at their tables. ‘I can’t write at home, I get distracted. At the café I’m alone, there is no company. I’m anonymous but surrounded by other people, and that keeps me in contact with reality.’"

That is a tiny, fair-use quote from an article by Giulio Zucchini (now, that's Italian) at www.cafebabel.com/en/article.asp?T=T&Id=9469.

Mosaics

Trieste is a city of manageable size, less hectic than London or Paris, and full of riches in art forms that I never appreciated much before - like mosaics. Here is the mosaic at San Giusto - we got there just as everything was closing, but this fills us in. Do go to mosaicartsource.wordpress.com/2006/11/14/mosaic-cathedral-of-san-giusto-trieste-italy/.

The prize for best mosaics goes to the Norman cathedral at Monreale, Sicily, for us. The mosaics cover all the walls, telling stories. Noah is especially good. It almost makes you feel seasick, with the waves. See Sicily Road Ways.This site is a source for many matters mosaic - how to, places where, a compendium.

Look up the "Joy of Shards" from that site - now we know what to do with our bust-ups. More direct access - www.thejoyofshards.co.uk/index.

Trieste's Canals - and Kayakers Downtown; History Overview

Trieste is a kind of Venice, with the canals from the bay area, but it is not webbed throughout with them. See the aerial view at www.ts.camcom.it/english/porto.

Trieste was part of our Croatia trip - at the northern end of the Istrian Peninsula. We came from the south, Rikeke to Pula -- see Croatia Road Ways. A day and a half, one overnight. Not enough time.

A varied history. The area went between Italy, Slovenia and Croatia in disputes for centuries. After WWII, the Potsdam treaties made Trieste self-governing, but it later went to Italy, see www.ts.camcom.it/english/porto, to the continuing dissatisfaction of many Croatians. Scroll down about 9 paragraphs. For Potsdam, see Germany Road Ways.

This was an area of alleged war crimes, as are many places after wars. For an overview on the topic here, see www.grolier.com/wwii/wwii_warcrimes.

For the history of the Trieste events of WWII, see cgi.stanford.edu/group/wais/cgi-bin/index.php?p=587. If you get lost in the long address, stop at "wais" and maneuver from there. How I long for direct links. It is hard to find references if you go only to the home page. Do visit any home page, though, so the counters will count you.

More blogs about Trieste Road Ways.

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Crossroads and minorities - Who is a majority?

The Austrian Habsburgs ruled Trieste from 1382-1918, until the city was ceded to Italy after WWII, see www.roth37.it/COINS/Trieste/index; and Slovenia borders Austria - sharing Alps - and Trieste, both.

Slovenes are in a difficult position in Trieste, however, despite the border and their own port adjacent to it. See www.ce-review.org/01/6/pozun6. There was much brutality surrounding the World Wars, and the current resort-oriented flowery reference to the beauty of the city are misleading, if you stop with that. See www.ictp.it/pages/info/aboutts. Proponents of the territorial allocations after WWII note that Trieste was kept from both Tito and Stalin. See www.marxists.org/archive/glass/1946/10/ww2. That apparently was a main consideration, not the orientations of the people.

For the wars and psychological/economic/political damage undercurrent, see the Potsdam and treaties discussion at www.grolier.com/wwii/wwii_15. See also Germany Road Ways (Potsdam post). Scroll down this site to the section, "The Dark Side - 1945," at www.lewrockwell.com/orig/raico-churchill5.

The old town hilltop - San Giusto Cathedral and Castle

Tradition says that Jason and his Argonauts landed here at Trieste in search of the Golden Fleece - reason in itself to visit. See Trieste History.

The old cathedral and castle, San Giusto, is splendid at late afternoon and dusk - watch the sunset. The earliest structures date from the 6thCentury. Here is a tourist site, with photos - www.ts.camcom.it/ENGLISH/sangiusto. Many old cities have addressed traffic problems by one-way street arrangements that make sense to those who are familiar with where they are going. For the rest of us, be prepared to go in circles, and to follow your nose upwards if you are looking for old fortress areas. They are almost always up rather then down or sideways. If in doubt, go up.

Driving. Be sure your car is no bigger than a compact. For us, a subcompact is too small - cute as those "Smartcars" are, the cargo beside me is too precious - but a compact is fine. I like standard shifts, for more control. On occasion, though - do not repeat this - if I am stuck in a parking spot because the next person has boxed us in, or we want to get in one and it looks too small, a nice young man may well offer help and I have said fine. He hops in, parks the car in the impossible spot, or gets me out if boxed in, we salute and we laugh and I tip and off we go. Could somebody be a criminal and take off in the car? Sure. So?

We did not take time to do Miramare Castle, called the "lovenest" of Maximilian of Habsburg and Charlotte of Belgium at this site, www.ts.camcom.it/ENGLISH/miramar. You do that one and report to us. The picture there does show how lovely the setting for Trieste is.