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…
Trieste is famous for its “buffets”. No, not the American style, all-you-can-eat self service brunchy buffet you’re thinking of…. In Trieste, buffets are an institution, a legacy from the days under the Austro-Hungarian Empire of which the city is still proud. The buffet is a “democratic” eatery equally loved by workers, students, retirees and ladies…
My awareness of the increasingly widespread problem of gluten intolerance has grown enormously since I moved to Italy. It seems ironic that a country that is synonymous with pasta and some of the most amazing bread in the world should have such a high incidence of sufferers. According to the Italian Health Commission on Celiac…
Just a little over an hour’s drive from Trieste, tucked away in the Julian Alps is the town of Tarvisio. This is a destination year-round for many locals looking to enjoy downhill and cross country skiing in the winter and hiking and biking through the natural beauty of mountains in the summer. Tarvisio offers you…
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,…
I recently read an article by a fellow American and writer, Noah Charney, who lives in Slovenia, about his Ski and Swim Challenge. Basically, Slovenia, our lovely neighbor to the north and east, boasts “that the country is so compact, with such a diversity of terrain, that you can ski in the morning and swim…
Parco di San Giovanni originally housed the psychiatric hospital of Trieste which was established in 1908. The goal was to build a “modern and free” oasis in the center of the city where patients could live a life within the “open door system” in the serenity of the Park — creating an environment where many…
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…
The Tram of Opicina, or as they call it here, el tram de Opčina (pron. Óp-seena), is a beloved icon of Trieste. Part tram and part funicular, these spunky bright blue and white tramcars used to provide regular service from Piazza Oberdan in downtown Trieste to the Altopiano Carsico. The line operated as a conventional, electrically…
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.…
Every year Trieste welcomes Spring with a calendar filled with outdoor events sure to help you thaw out from the seemingly endless and very gray winter. There are many to choose from; sporting events, art exhibits, concerts, plays and literary happenings. But the ones that really mark the thaw of the city from Winter’s grip…
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…
The only reason I have ever traveled to the town of Ronchi dei Legionari is to get to Trieste’s airport. “Ronchi” means cultivated lands and the town was originally called Ronchi di Monfalcone. The name changed came after Gabriele D’Annunzio (famed Italian military man, poet, playwright, journalist, patriot) led 2,000 locals — not part of…
I often take friends just over the border for delicious meals at some of the classic Slovenian Gostilnas, but on a Tuesday nights, many are closed. Luckily my pals on a Triestine cooking page on Facebook suggested I try Trattoria Valeria 1904 in Opicina. A friend of mine who is a “buona forchetta” (a “good…
Walking down the Via Valdirivo, under the greyness of the winter day, I was greeted by an explosion of color and light. A storefront window festooned with fabric flag banners in joyous wild patterns drew me in. I had stumbled upon the brick and mortar incarnation of Patchworkvictim.it, an eshop that sells “American” fabrics for…
