Trieste is located at the crossroad between the Latin influence from the east, the German from the north and the Slave from the west and is therefore in a strategic position in the center of the new Europe and is nowadays a center of scientific research and technical innovation while in the past it was a center of literature and psychoanalysis.
Declared a free port in 1719 by the then Emperor Charles VI of Habsburg the city has flourished economically which is reflected in a series of neo-classical and Liberty style buildings. It has seen a great wealth of merchants that came from all over the Mediterranean to seek their fortune.
The Triestini still feel the glorious past of their city which manifests itself in a form of melancholy as a conscious detachment from reality. Nonetheless they are known also for their cheerfullness and their desire to party.
This land is a melting-pot of languages and cultures.
One of the first things that will strike a newly arrived visitor to Trieste are the bi-lingual street signs and place names; you may notice signs in Slovene, in Friulano and even in German, which testifies the presence of relative minorities who live along to the borders with Slovenia and Austria.
I invite you to discover Trieste and its many features – you will not be disappointed.