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http://www.ictp.it — home > information and resources > visiting ictp > about trieste
About Trieste
Trieste has a remarkable history and a remarkable location. A most Italian city, it entertains close relations with the adjacent Slav and Germanic cultures. Of all Italian cities it is the closest to Mitteleuropa. So close to the centre of Europe, it is also linked by the sea to all the Mediterranean countries to the south and east. It is a crossroad of trade and culture, a city with an incomparable spirit, free and brave, at once popular and aristocratic, casting its spell on every visitor.
Trieste's setting is particularly beautiful with the combination of the shining whiteness of its rocks, the blue sea and the green hills that surround it. Approaching the town along its wonderful coast road, it appears perfectly inserted in the surrounding territory, irrespective of the boundaries separating it from Istria, the formerly Italian territory that now belongs to Croatia. Its ancient history can still be seen from the Roman ruins on Capitol Hill, the San Giusto Castle and the Roman theatre. The dark ruins of the first Castellieri stand like guards on the hills, as if it was still there for its defense. Memories and images of the past live on in the streets, from the little alleys that wind through the ancient suburbs with their old houses and ruined walls to the wide central streets that cross the new part of the town with its elegant neo-classical buildings.
This contrast gives rise to that particular atmosphere that so endeared Trieste to Umberto Saba, its favourite son, Scipio Slataper, Italo Svevo, James Joyce and many other illustrious poets - an atmosphere that is deeply felt by locals and visitors alike. The most precious gem that surrounds it is Miramare Castle, conjuring up the memory of an unfortunate love-story. Enshrined in the coastal rocks, it gives visitors the chance to admire the most enchanting sunsets.
Throughout its history, Trieste has been a crossroad of different peoples and religions, and its churches still reveal its cosmopolitan heritage. The city is surrounded by the sea and the characteristic highland. These calcareous rocks host an extremely varied flora, including the red sumac and innumerable other flowers of rare beauty. In the tiny Carsiana valley, a botanic garden created near Sgonico, microclimates allow one to admire the multifarious aspects of the flora. There are the perfumes of Mediterranean herbs growing alongside yellow ginestra brooms, burning bushes, windflowers, patentillas and Alpine ferns hidden in the moist winding ravines. Paths marked by the tracks of rock-deer and badgers lead to flowery glades, caves and lairs inhabited by rosy oims - an ancient, almost extinct species of blind amphibian. Along the stony path from Opicina to Monrupino there is a natural basin that contains the little lake of Percedol where white waterlilies and aquatic salamanders float silently on its water.
So visitors may walk along shady paths, rocky gorges, impervious caves, or wide, windswept clearings that offer a landscape of unusual beauty. In the typical, orderly villages scattered around the area, tourists can stop and refresh themselves under the shade of arbors and old trees in country trattorias offering the local wines and dishes of a gastronomic tradition that reflects Trieste's role as a crossroad of different European cultures.
Travel/Domestic Flights
The map of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region shows how ICTP and Trieste are distant from Venice and/or Ronchi dei Legionari Airport.
Bus to Airport
Bus 51 runs between the Bus Terminal (Piazza Liberta' adjacent to the Rail Station) in Town and the Airport. The buses stop along Strada Costiera only if you hail the driver. You need to buy your ticket before you board the bus.
Weather
Most of the year, the coastline enjoys a mild and sunny Trieste's climate. In winter, it rarely freezes, though it can rain quite a lot in March-April and October-November. One important reason why Trieste's climate is beneficial, is that it is seldom, or never, cold and wet at the same time. When the weather is cold, it is with north wind, and the air is dry. When the air is moist, south wind prevails, and the temperature is mild. Sunscreen is a necessity in the hot, dry Mediterranean summer.
Average highs rise to around 80 F (27 C) by June, July and August, the warmest months. Heat waves can send the mercury into the 90s (32 C), although stifling heat is rare, thanks to the cooling effect of the sea breeze.
Autumn has generally pleasant temperatures, but rainfall begins to pick up markedly.
October and November are normally the rainiest months of the year.
Winters are generally mild and sunny.
This pleasant weather on the Mediterranean is sometimes interrupted by very changeable
cold and blustery weather brought by a northerly wind called the Mistral in French Provence
and Bora on the Adriatic.
The Northern wind can bring unseasonably cold weather on the Mediterranean for a few days in Winter and early spring.
TS Tourist Office
Trieste is one big, open-air museum. Ancient Roman buildings are interspersed with beautiful eighteenth-century ones, Austrian-style landscapes, churches of all dominations, Art Nouveau facades, rural towns and villages such as Muggia and those on the upland plains (see Destination Guide).
Trieste is also the city of historical cafes, of science and literature (it is home to favoured haunts of James Joyce, Saba and the contemporary writer Claudio Magris), of carefree Sundays spent in the beautiful Carso.
Free Tours Around Trieste
For a number of years, the Trieste Tourism Promotion Board (Azienda di Promozione Turistica) has made available for the scientific community a series of free bus tours with guide around the Trieste area. They are open to scientists (and family members) from ICTP and a few other scientific centers in the Trieste area.
Mr. Sergio Bradaschia is the local Tour coordinator: brady@ictp.it
The Tours include: "The Grotta Gigante" (Giant Cave) which is less than ten miles from Trieste.
It is more than 100 meters high, 65 meters wide and 280 meters long, which makes it the largest cave
in the world. "Duino Castle", built in the XI century, was the first residence of the Duinati
- feudal vassals of the Patriarch of Aquileia. In the courtyard there is an older tower,
probably dating back to Roman times. "Sistiana Bay", a well-known tourist resort with hotels,
restaurants, bathing establishments and a shipping line connecting it with Trieste.
"Miramare Castle", the famous residence of Maximilian of Habsburg and his consort,
Charlotte of Belgium. The castle, which was built between 1856 and 1860 by Cari Junker,
is faced with bright Istria stone. The interior contains numerous works of art, and
clearly reflects the taste and habits of the Vienna Court. "Muggia" village built
in Roman times, under the name of Castrum Muglee, on the hill rising above the present
town. Around the XI century it extended down towards the sea, taking the name of Borgo
Lauro.