: Friuli Venezia Giulia
Regions of Italy
: Friuli Venezia Giulia
An important crossroads for ethnic groups, cultures and civilizations, Trieste has been the least Mediterranean and the most cosmopolitan city in Italy for quite a long time, due to its Mitteleuropean background. The main Austrian-Hungarian port, then centre of irredentism and patriotism, it became part of Italy permanently in 1954. Friuli [Read more...]
An important crossroads for ethnic groups, cultures and civilizations, Trieste has been the least Mediterranean and the most cosmopolitan city in Italy for quite a long time, due to its Mitteleuropean background. The main Austrian-Hungarian port, then centre of irredentism and patriotism, it became part of Italy permanently in 1954. Friuli comprises 90 percent of the land, with Pordenone and Udine, a very powerful city because of its prosperous economy and central position in the region. Venezia Giulia was established when Trieste and Gorizia went back to being part of Italy. The population of Friuli Venezia Giulia is 1.200.000 inhabitants. Besides Italian, people speak Friulan and Slovenian.
Located in the north-most part of the Adriatic, Trieste is the joint and border town between north and south, east and west, Latin, German and Slavic civilization. The San Giusto Cathedral (XIV century) overlooks the city and its architecture, history and culture like a huge terrace. In the 1800 Trieste was a dynamic seat of speculation and mercantile business (the Stock Market, banks, insurance, port commerce). Despite its unquestionable decay, the city is still the seat of the main insurance companies in Italy (Generali, Ras) and the most important naval and shipyard industries.
But Trieste is especially fascinating from a cultural point of view. Here, in Piazza dell’Unità d’Italia – just like in the cafés – , imposing and magical for its proportions and harmony, we can sense the influence of Vienna and the Empire on the broadminded intellectuals and noble writers (Italo Svevo, James Joice, Umberto Saba). This is where Maximilian Habsburg, brother of emperor Francis Joseph, decided to build the white Miramare Castle. A bright, romantic combination of marble, sea and vegetation.
