We left Rovinj, Croatia for Trieste, Italy on August 17th, which also happens to be Michael’s birthday. Trieste is one of those cities that sounds familiar, but you might be hard-pressed to find it on a map. Just trace your finger from Venice around the top of the Adriatic and you’ll find it snug up against the edge of Italy’s border with Slovenia.
We had three reasons to go to Trieste. One was the airport - it is the closest one to Rovinj. Two was the opportunity to see a part of Italy we hadn’t visited. And three was the absolutely amazing Airbnb we found. We had our fingers crossed that it would match the photos and description in the listing.
The most practical way to get there was by car. And even better, have someone else drive. So we hung around the local taxi rank until we spotted a young man with a sleek black sedan and asked if he would be willing to take us to Trieste. His name was Vladimir, he spoke English, and yes, he does it all the time. Great! He picked us up a couple of days later for an easy, hassle-free journey for just under $200 door-to-door.
We crossed into Slovenia on the way and that’s where we reentered the Schengen Zone. At the border, we held our breath because we’d read that Slovenia only needed proof of vaccination for entry, so we didn’t get Covid tests, but the rules for any given country can shift with little notice. Our flimsy US Proof of Vaccination Cards worked, so all that was left was a short traverse across Slovenia into Italy.
Having Vladimir deal with the Covid requirements at the Slovenian border was an added benefit to being driven by someone local. But where he really earned his keep was helping us find our Airbnb. We had the address and Google Maps doesn’t let us down very often, but in this case, we were stumped by the results.
Once we entered Trieste we drove through a tunnel and when we exited “Lady Google” as we call her tell us we’d arrived at our destination. How can that be right? We were just a few car lengths out of the tunnel and the buildings on either side of the road were decrepit. Surely our beautiful Airbnb couldn’t be in one of those. Could it? We drove through the tunnel a second time and then pulled over because the pin didn’t budge. Michael called our host on WhatsApp and after several tries, they connected. She directed us to a nearby bus stop where we could park and wait for her to join us. It turned out the building was on a street that sat on top of the tunnel - so the pin was in the right place, it just wasn’t accessible from where we had we had pulled over.
We said goodbye to Vlad and our host Alexandra walked us to the apartment. We got a feel for our surroundings and duly noted the hills and stairs involved, but nothing prepared us for the 103 stairs it would take to reach our new front door. Once again, we were so taken by the listing that we either chose not to look or chose not to care that we’d be dragging our 50-pound suitcases up five winding staircases.
We were on the 3rd floor, which didn’t sound too bad until we understood it was really on the 5th floor because the levels are Pianoterra (ground floor), Mezzanino, I Piano, II Piano, III Piano. Home.
The building was old and pretty crusted with dirt from the busy road below, but once inside the lobby things improved considerably. And once you crossed the threshold of the apartment you were transported to another universe.
The apartment was so immaculate that we put everything away immediately and only drank red wine in the kitchen! Speaking of the kitchen, it had was everything a cook could possible need - and it was all new!
This was Airbnb number 277 and we thought we’d seen it all, but this place took our breath away. Not only did it match the photos, it exceeded them. And every amenity you could ask for was in place. From fresh flowers, local wines, chocolate cookies, luxury soaps, dense towels, a heavenly bed, and the kitchen was a cook’s dream. The view wasn’t bad either!
These two paintings are by our host Alexandria Daniela Tomasi.
And on top of that, our host was not only gracious she is an artist. Two of the magnificent paintings (out of many) in the apartment, were hers. She is an art dealer in Venice by day and a very talented painter by night. She got us settled in and then made us a dinner reservation at her favorite nearby restaurant so we could celebrate Michael’s birthday that evening.
The next morning we headed out for a Free Walking Tour. We didn’t do a lot of homework on Trieste before we arrived so we were looking forward to learning more about it. One thing we did know was it had more layers of history than its famous apple strudel.
Everywhere we turned there were large plastic animals. We finally found the gallery and information center that explains the installation. In their own words “Animated by snails, swallows, rabbits, crocodiles, elephants, penguins, wolves and frogs, Trieste is transformed into a special museum without barriers where nature and respect for it are always the protagonists” For the full story visit Cracking Art Incanto.
The meeting point for the tour was The Church of Sant'Antonio Taumaturgo in the central square opposite the Grand Canal. As we turned the corner and took one look at the elegant buildings lining three sides of the piazza, the imprint of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was obvious.
Trieste is a city that reveals itself slowly. At street level many of the buildings seem staid - but if you look up you’ll find incredible tile work, frescoes, statuary and whimsical decorative plaster everywhere.
Trieste’s strategic coastal location made it especially attractive to the Austrians who first occupied the region in 1382 and then after some political gyrations became part of the Austro-Hungarian empire until 1918. In fact, Trieste was the fourth largest city in the empire after Vienna, Budapest, and Prague. Those were the golden years when Trieste thrived as a major seaport connecting Europe with Asia and beyond.
The walking tour took just over an hour. That gives you an idea of how easy it is to hit all the highlights while still getting a fairly in-depth background of the city’s colorful history. The city’s evolution is evident by its architecture. From Roman ruins and Brutalist monoliths to Orthodox churches filled with gilded icons to 14th-century chapels, Baroque beauties, and Italian facades painted in shades of Gelato. Trieste has it all.
Trieste is a museum in itself. There are ancient stones piled up on side streets. and art can be found everywhere you look. Of course, there are many great art museums and historic places to visit as well.
Trieste enjoyed an unusual level of religious freedom during the 19th century and that allowed for an interesting Sunday morning “church crawl.” We attended a few minutes of service in the Greek Orthodox Church, The Serbian Orthodox Church, a bit of Catholic Mass and a peek inside a 400-year-old chapel. There is a beautiful Synagog too, but you have to make an appointment to see it. The Jewish population of Trieste was decimated during World War ll and there are very few Jewish residents living there today. There is also a mosque and a huge bunker-like church on a hill overlooking the city.
Trieste is worthy of more respect than it gets as a travel destination. A majority of tourists whose dream is to experience Venice don’t see a reason to venture further. But if they just pushed on for another 100 miles they would discover a city with quiet dignity, beautiful architecture, and a food and wine scene that rivals any other in Italy. In fact in January, Eataly, the renowned all-things-Italian food-and-wine emporiums opened a three-story, 33,000 square foot store, with a restaurant, wine tasting room, and a cooking school here.
Eataly comes to Trieste. This beautiful complex holds anything and everything having to do with Italian food and wine. There is a waterfront restaurant, a huge wine cellar and a cooking school.
If you find yourself headed to Istria or intrigued to explore Friuli-Venezia Giulia, often referred to as “the best wine region you’ve never heard of" take in this sleeping beauty of a city. It doesn’t ask much of its visitors other than to enjoy a glass of really good wine or tuck into a flakey strudel in one of a hundred cafes. That and appreciate her as a once-great city that, considering all she’s been through, deserves to rest on her laurels.
As we were leaving, we learned from our host that she will be selling her beautiful apartment, and in fact, we were the second to last guests she’ll be hosting. I've included the link to the listing just in case she changes her mind. If it is still available, it is reason enough to visit.
From Trieste, we headed back to France to collect our 9-year-old grandson Marcel for a week of traveling with the grandparents. I’ll write a short recap of that whirlwind next.
Thanks for following along,
Debbie and Michael Campbell