So many Italian cities, towns and regions have symbols to represent them. Some are associated with an historic landmark or a cathedral. Others use their heraldic seals to represent them and for some, there are architectural details or decorative items that represent them like the winged lion of Venice or the Pomo of Puglia or the…
As you know, I love Trieste to bits, but now I love BiTS! BiTS stands for “Bike sharing Trieste” which is a new program launched this week to promote “soft mobility” in an attempt to reduce congestion, pollution and provide sustainable alternative transportation modes in Trieste. This initiative is aimed at the tourist and…
I keep telling anyone who’ll listen that Italy has so many amazing and beautiful treasures to see that there is no actual need to travel out of the country. Just two hours from Trieste, in the Veneto region, is the city of Padova (Padua). A little smaller than Trieste, the city is just as enchanting;…
Ode to the Rosa di Gorizia courtesy of Rosenbar Restaurant In the dead of winter, when all else struggles to bloom, the Rosa di Gorizia is the first “flower” to appear in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. I’m talking about a local variety of red radicchio (Cichorium intybus) that has been cultivated in and…
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…
This year’s recipe “gift” is for a cookie that I have only just recently added to my holiday repertoire. It has been received with great success and everyone who tries them becomes instantly addicted. Is it because they are 95% butter? Is it the salty sweetness? Whatever the reason, these are sure to delight you…
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…
In Trieste, every season and holiday has its “must-haves”, whether it’s Titola for Easter, Gnocchi di Susine to mark the end of summer or Favette in the Fall. Christmastime is no different and holiday tables will be laden with a variety of baked goods. While Triestines are VERY SPECIFIC about what is a Triestine vs Friulan or other nationality “specialty” , in…
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…
