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Things to see
- What to see in Trieste
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Trieste
offers great walking tours to the Tourist in the city, and
around its hills.
Beginning
four miles from the city, with the Castle of Miramar,
built around 1856 for Archduke Maxilmilian of Hapsburg, the tour
give an insight of the beauties of ancient Trieste.
The garden
of the castle contains a remarkable architecture of trees and
plants; it was constructed after the
monarch?s marriage to Charlotte of Belgium who
sadly
went slowly mad after the archduke?s mission to Mexico, which
ended in his execution.
The
Castle of San Giusto was started in 1368 but it took almost
two century to be finished. It houses a museum of historical
weapons and is today used to host major events. A very
beautiful view of the city can be seen from its bastions.
The
Cathedral of San Giusto has been built over the remains of a
Roman propylaca of the I century known as the Capitoline Temple
symbol of the Capitoline Triad, Jove, Juno and Minerva whose
remains can still be seen.
Part of the
Roman floor mosaic is incorporated in the present flooring. In
around 1050 the earlier Christian chapel was replaced by two
churches, the Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta and the Capella di
San Giusto, forming a chaotic
hotchpotch of Venetian, Byzantine and Gothic styles
The site
was further expanded in the early thirteenth century in an
extraordinary stroke of pragmatic architectural genius: the two
adjacent buildings were bridged by a high beamed vault, forming
the current cathedral nave and leaving a double aisle on each
side.
The
Capella di Santa Maria Assunta has Venetian-Ravennan mosaics
of the Coronation of the Virgin, laid by master craftsmen from
Veneto in the XII-XIII century, revealing the Byzantine roots of
the style, while the Capella di San Giusto has XIII
century frescoes of the life of the saint, framed between
Byzantine pillars. Predominantly Romanesque, the facade includes
a Gothic rose window.
Near the
area of San Giusto is the Arco di Riccardo, erected in 30
B.C., forming an integral part of the city wall during the
Augustine period.
The road leading back down to town in via della Cattedrale,
where pre-Habsburg Trieste first developed. Nowadays its main
point of interest is the art and history museum, the Museo
Civico di Storia dell? Arte
and the
Temple of Holy Trinity and Saint Spiridione, of recent
construction and of Serb-Orthodox style. It has a Greek cross
plan with cupolas in Byzantine tradition.
Trieste's
principal museum is the Revoltella, housed in a
Viennese-style palazzo bequeathed to the city by the financier
Baron Pasquale Revoltella in 1869. Combined display of XIX
century home furnishings and Triestine paintings. Re-designed by
architect Carlo Scarpa, houses an extensive collection of modern
art.
The nearby
Museo Sartorio has ceramics and icons and Venetian
paintings, and the Santa Chiara triptych.
The
beautiful central Piazza is the Piazza dell?Unita? d?Italia,
which is the largest seaside square in Europe. It contains XVIII
and early XIX century buildings, house of the town hall, the
prefecture, the regional council, the Duchies d'Aosta Hotel and
the Caff?degli Specchi, a historic caf? From Piazza dell?Unita
d?Italia, through another historical caf? the Tergesto, we
head to the heart of the city shopping district, Via
Mazzini, Corso Italia, Via Carducci and Via Battisti.
Not to miss
the opportunity to visit the charming book and antique shops
which form part of Trieste's long history.
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