Simon's Blog: March 2013

A Short Trip To Trieste

8-10 March 2013

Trieste, " a loitering kind of place".

Jan Morris

Where Mittle-europe met the Mediterranean, the port of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the once and future cross roads of Europe.

James Joyce with The Loiterers. Joyce lived in Trieste from 1904 to 1915 where he taught English and wrote most of "The Dubliners", all of "Portrait of an Artist" and some of "Ulysses". One of his pupils, the writer Italo Svevo, wrote that wise advice; "write one must; what one needn't do is publish."

The statue, by Nino Spagnoli. was erected in 2004. The James Joyce Cafe nearby is worth a visit, on Via Roma 14.

Another famous exile was the explorer and translator of "One Thousand and One Nights" Sir Richard Francis Burton, who was the British Consul in Trieste. He died there and is buried in a stone tent in Mortlake. Further research to follow.

The Piazza dell Unita d'Italia has to be one of the most splendid city squares. Elegant and uncluttered it was laid out in 1870 by Guiseppe Bruni and restored by Bernard Huet in 2000, surrounded on three sides by imposing 19 th. century buildings. On the forth side is the Adriatic Sea. It was previously known as the Piazza Grande, a sensible utilitarian name.

Above, with The Loiterers, is the renaissance style Lloyd Triestino building, designed by Enrico Festel in 1883.

Above left is the Government House by Hartman, in 1905 and to the right, and at the head of the Piazza, is the eclectic style City Hall by Guiseppe Bruni.

A view of the Piazza

A rather surreal view behind the Piazza, echoes of the Italian artist Giorgio di Chirico.

Adjacent to the Dell Unita is the Piazza della Borso. Above is a very poor attempt to impose a 1854 print, a "Then", onto the current view, a "Now". The neo-classic building on the right is the Old Stock Exchange, by Antonio Mollari in 1806. A true temple to money!.

Behind the column is the Palazzo Tergesteo, the Customs House, built in 1842. It is currently being restored and converted into loft style apartments.

San Guisto

The city is dominated by the San Giusto Hill with its Roman ruins, fort dating back to Venetian times and a charming 14 th. Century Cathedral which incorporated two earlier churches. As it was visited in thick fog interior photos only.

Interior of Cathedral of San Guisto

Byzantine mosaic depicting the Virgin Mary between archangels in San Giusto's votive chapel.

A rather severe fourteenth century Christ and a more understanding Mary.

The Church of Saint Nicolas

Interior of the Church, contrasting with the Cathedral of San Guisto.

Coffee

Trieste is arguably the coffee centre of Europe. The city has many Viennese style caffes, including the rather glamorous Caffe Specchi on Piazza dell Unita and the more political Caffe San Marco, below, on via Battisti. The famous Illy brand was founded in the city by a Hungarian Francesco Illy in 1933. The Illy logo was created by the American pop artist James Rosenquist.

The Castello di Miramare

The Loiterers outside the mist shrouded The Castello di Miramare. This fairytale castle was built for Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg and his wife Charlotte by the architect Carl Junker in 1856-60.

The archduke was the younger brother of Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria. He was rather set up by Napoleon III of France to become Emperor of Mexico in 1864. Deserted by the French he was shot three years later in Mexico by the revolutionary troops of Benito Juarez.

A ceiling detail in the Castelllo, a seductive smile!

How we saw it and how it is looks in the postcards.

Museo Revoltella and Gallery of Modern Art

Baron Pasquale Revoltella was a successful entrepreneur and financier in Trieste, responsible for the overdecorated Palazzo, for example the dining room below;

His claim to fame was as a major investor in the Suez Canal, of significant importance to the commercial success of Trieste, being, as it was, the main port for the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Ariel view of the Suez Canal by Alb. Rieger, 1864

Dogs

For the lovers of dogs three from paintings in the Revoltella collection and one from the Cathedral of San Giusto.

Buildings in Trieste

1932

2013

The building above, in Piazza Oberdan, was designed by the modernist Italian architect Umberto Nordio in 1932. For reasons unknown it has a new facade and added arches. On the left is the Casa del Combattente e Museo del Risorgimento, and ahead offices.

The Hotel de La Ville

A classic piece of romantic ephemera. The Hotel, where Verdi stayed, was described in the Baedeker as "with first class restaurant, high charges, variously judged", all very Tripadvisor!

The building today

The Tribunale

The Tribunale was the scene of fighting in May 1945 between the New Zealanders and the occupying German forces. An Officer wrote; "The defenders of the Tribunal Building were truculent Hitlerites who vowed they would surrender to no one. I was told they were SS troops. They had defied the german area commander who had sent a staff officer and party to order them to surrender to us. They refused and shots were exchanged, German against German. With no flag of truce available, I made do with my handkerchief. Holding it aloft I advanced unarmed across the Square towards the massive door. I stopped at the foot of the broad steps and called out. ..... The door opened a crack and slowly the crack became wider until two german officers were exposed within. One came forward carrying a submachine gun and spoke to me in German which I could not understand. The other one, who stood just inside the door in the shadows, appeared to be waving a half empty brandy bottle in one hand and a Luger pistol in the other...... After conferring for a moment they stepped back inside and slammed the door..........The answer was "We wont surrender to any bastards".........I gathered up all the tanks I could muster from the 19 th. and 20 th. regiments, 18 in all, and placed them strategically round the building.........and gave the order to fire.......The tank boys were having a wonderful time. Never had they had such an easy target and nobody was shooting back at them...... It was now up to the Yugoslaves to finish up the job."