Trieste, città di frontiera. Trieste, la bora, San Giusto, Miramare….Punto d’incontro di civiltà, crocevia di culture, città di frontiera tra Mediterraneo e Balcani. Profumo di Vienna, centro di finanza e affari, élite letteraria e altro ancora.

Villa Otello Savorgnan di Ariis di Rivignano (30 chilometri circa da Udine) è tra i luoghi storicamente più importanti di tutto il Friuli, che prepara il suo rilancio organizzandosi tra l’altro come un forte polo culturale universitario. Ma anche una festa notturna propiziatoria può aiutare. La Serata Maravee (Meraviglie) del 23 giugno, solstizio d’estate, prevede riti, kermesse, recite e danze. Un gioioso incontro col pubblico, tra fuochi, luci e costumi folk.

Grande serata-evento per Givigliana (Carnia). Tra luci, colori, pubblico entusiasta, ecco calare i teloni che celavano la Torre, per svelare i quattro lati del campanile interamente dipinto. Su ogni lato, decorazioni e raffigurazioni che riproducono con vivacità le più significative scene di vita locale. Un evento artistico e insieme turistico, di forte richiamo. L’intento è rilanciare una comunità che stava scomparendo.

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.