I used to think that Trieste was unexciting compared to other Italian towns. It reminded me of teenage shopping trips with my parents when the city was still recovering from a decline in visitors, especially from neighboring countries, following the partition of Yugoslavia. So it took me a couple of visits to start appreciating, loving even, this melting pot of cultures, nations, languages and foods that has developed so beautifully over the past years.
The capital of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trieste sits on the Adriatic coast, next to the karst plateau’s limestone cliffs, its hinterland virtually surrounded by Slovenia. It was once the main seaport of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, whose monarchy sewn of diverse nations left its traces on the architecture, urbanism, cuisine and coffee culture. The Italian way of life here is spiced with all the cultures that have passed through the city, which gives Trieste its specific charm. You’ll hear Italian and Slovenian spoken side by side, and you’ll find both strudel and tiramisu on the menus.
Use it as a loose navigation, but otherwise, explore the city by yourself.
Since I rediscovered it, I’ve been visiting Trieste often, and have assembled an extensive list of places to eat and shop. It comes as a dose of Mediterranean, mitteleuropa, sunshine, sea, krapfen, historic cafés and bookshops, and great food, thereby closing (or continuing) the loop my parents started in the 1970s.
GET THE FULL LIST IN PRINT
