This year will mark the 67th anniversary of the launch of the bathyscape TRIESTE and on January 23, 2020 we will celebrate the 60th anniversary of its history making dive to the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench. From Greek words bathys=deep and scafos=ship, this deep submergence vehicle (DSV) was designed by Swiss scientist Auguste…
So I’ve taken a few weeks off for the holidays; spending quality time with friends and family, celebrating 30 — count ’em 30 – years of marriage to the man responsible for dragging me to this side of the ocean — THANK YOU HONEY! He teases me because he says I think we’re on vacation…
Walking around Trieste, one often stumbles upon a beautiful building that has been shuttered for many years, if not decades… relics of a once vibrant past when the city was the epicenter of trade and culture as the port city of the Austrian Empire. Often one hears descriptions of these once great palazzi; the beautiful…
Hi Readers, I will be on holiday for the next 2 weeks, enjoying friends and family, but will be back at the start of Dec! Thanks for your patience and hanging in there with me!! Have a wonderful holiday whether at home or abroad!
Now is the perfect time to visit TRIESTE FUNGHI – When I first arrived to Trieste, I discovered the most surprising and magical little shop, Funghi Trieste. I don’t remember now if back then they also had the fruit and vegetable shop next door, but as I recall, in 2015 it was just a tiny…
Jutting out above the rive (waterfront) from the molo (pier) 23 is Trieste’s unofficial mascot, URSUS. A piece of industrial archeology dating back to 1913, it is one of the largest and oldest floating steel cranes in the world. Outfitted with an electrical system, motors and 2 rudders, the crane is equipped with an arm able…
With All Saints Day coming upon us, I could have easily recycled one of the articles on the famous Fave Triestine, the tri-colored “Day of the Dead” cookies that are ubiquitous in shop windows this time of year, but instead I want to tell you about where you can actually visit the dead here in…
Here we are coming up on Halloween and all I can think of is Venzone. Host to the annual Festa della Zucca, the Pumpkin Festival, for the last 27 years, I have been jonesing to go and see for myself both the town and the festivities. Like a child hopped up on halloween candy, I have…
Walking around Trieste, you will notice that many butcher shops have signs advertising the availability of steak tartare on Fridays and Saturdays. This struck me as unusual in more ways than one; having grown up in an Italian-American family, Fridays was rigorously a “no meat” day in the Catholic practice of self-discipline and penance. And…
This year, Trieste celebrates 51 years of the Barcolana Autumn Cup Regatta (La Barcolana), organized by the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano. This is one of Trieste’s premiere events for locals and visitors alike and is the world’s largest regatta. For 2019’s race, the organization had to place a cap of 2,700 on the number of entries, as the…
I love the Italian phrase, “Tutto il mondo e’ paese” which is clunkily translated to, the world is a small town but the true meaning is that, in spite of geographic distances and cultural differences, some things are the same the world over. I also firmly believe that in part this phenomenon can be traced…
I have lived next door to this Villa since I moved to Trieste. Sealed off to the public by iron gates and a stone wall and video cameras with a sign warning “Military Zone – Keep Out – Armed Guards” I was of course even more curious to understand how this once beautiful villa came to…
With the last gasp of summer closing out August, Trieste turns a corner. Yes, it’s back to school and back to work for many but despite this return to the normal rhythm of life, Trieste still exudes a bubbly feeling of excitement. The days begin with a crispness in the air but soon enough, the…
With the arrival of the first burrasca (big summer storm) announcing the end of summer, the refreshing chill in the morning sets me dreaming about the dishes and soups I will cook now that the heatwave is over. Of course Italy has many regional soup specialties but in the FVG region, we are blessed to bask…
The Basilica Paleocristiana (Early Christian Basilica) is of significant religious and artistic importance to Trieste. Built between the 4th and 6th centuries AD, it is located in via Madonna del Mare in Cavana, an area that fell outside the walls of ancient Trieste (Tergeste) along a road dotted with burial sites leading to the Roman…
