As a carnivorous American with a penchant for good, flavorful meat, I had a hard time finding both a good butcher in Trieste and quality meat. In fact, when I first got here, many locals suggested I go to Slovenia to buy meat. There, I was told in a hushed whisper, the meat was better…
Trieste is inherently tied to Vienna. Having been under Austrian rule since as far back as 1382, when the main citizens of Trieste in petitioned Leopold III of Habsburg, Duke of Austria in order to become part of his domains. Subsequently Trieste gained wealth and importance as the port city of the consolidated Austrian Littoral. It became little Vienna on the…
As a gift to all of you, I thought I’d share my tried and true Christmas cookie recipes that I have been making year after year. Now that I have been living in Trieste for almost 3 years, these cookies have become a way for me to cherish my U.S. traditions as well as share…
In Trieste, every season and holiday has its “must-haves” sweets, whether it’s Titola for Easter, Gnocchi di Susine to mark the end of summer or Fave dei Morti in the Fall. Christmastime is no different and holiday tables will be laden with a variety of baked goods. Here are the desserts that you will surely find at a typical Triestine Christmas:…
Le Fave dei Morti (“The Fava Beans of the Dead”) sounds particularly well-suited to this time of year, now that we’re coming up on Halloween and the Giorno dei Morti, or Day of the Dead. Each year, starting in October, piles of pink, white and brown round treats fill the windows of the local bakeries.…
With the 50th Anniversary of Barcolana successfully celebrated and relegated to the annals of history with a record-breaking 2700 boats and more than 250,000 visitors — summer is now officially over and mother nature seems to agree. Gone are the warm breezy days of early fall, and now grey skies, red sumac and a more…
On a little winding side street, in the old neighborhood of Cavana one finds TERRA MATER, a little gourmet shop specialized in bringing to market small producer delicacies native to the Friuli, Venezia Giulia Region. The shop opened a little less than a year ago under the guidance of Ervin Rama, and with the help…
For a short period of time every year, every store is stocked beautiful blue and purple plums! Find out how they are part of the Trieste cooking tradition on bestoftrieste.com
Trieste is one of those cities that is beautiful to look at; the stunning blue of the sea, the packed marinas, the amazing Piazza Unita’ facing the open gulf, the ornate Viennese style architecture — everywhere you look it seems, there is something new to see and that instantly piques your curiosity. One day, as…
I have had some wonderful meals at the Ristorante Al Monastero, a restaurant in Cividale del Friuli that serves traditional friulian cuisine. The old-style building was once a fraternity house of the order of Santa Maria dei Battuti (a secular medieval order sworn to offer aid and assistance in the form of hospice, shelter and…
Often referred to as the “lungs” of the city, Trieste’s parks and gardens offer pleasant refuge from the dog days of summer and lovely displays of color in spring and fall. Trieste’s main gardens prominently featuring botanical specimens are: The Civico Orto Botanico: Established in 1842 the city-run botanical garden is a small but lush…
Many people don’t realize how sprawling Trieste is. It’s not just what you see when you are down on the waterfront – Trieste is a multicultural and multilingual metropolis and it offers a very diverse landscape – from the popular Rive on the seaside, to tiny towns nestled in the Carso, to the old city,…
Springtime in the region brings with it the bounty of wild herbs and edible plants, among them, the much awaited ”Sclopit” or Silene Vulgaris, a wild green that grows almost everywhere. The name Sclopit is derived from a childhod game when children would pick the flowers and pop them between their palms making a little…
My favorite thing about Easter in Trieste is the delicious Titola. A traditional Easter cake that makes its appearance for a brief time right around the holiday, it is wrapped in cellophane and colorful bows. It is as pretty as it is delicious with its colorful easter eggs nestled in the shiny, moist braided dough.…
I am by no means a wine connoisseur, but I hope to become at least an informed enthusiast while living here in Trieste. My only exposure to wines of this region had been a brief love affair with a wine by Livio Felluga which I only remember by the distinctive label with the map of…
