Italy Part 5: Unlike any other Italian cities! (Trieste)

Trieste, was our last stop.  After Florence - Pisa - Rome, we stopped in the port city of Trieste, Italy. We took the train from Florence to Trieste Centrale on 4 May 2013 and spent 6 days in Trieste. The train from Florence – Venice (Mestre) – Trieste took a little over 4.45 hours. On the way, we passed along the ocean.

It was late Saturday evening when we arrived, so a lot of places and shops were closed and we only got a brief view of the city. During spring, Trieste is beautiful, with cafés having their tables set on the cobblestone streets and sidewalks, where you can sip a cup of cappuccino!

Evening scene with City Hall

The Telegraph describes this city (Trieste):  “The great cliché about Trieste is that it has an air of melancholy.  Italians often say that “Trieste is in Italy but not of Italy.” The city looks like a Mediterranean Vienna rather than a typical Italian port. For most of its history Trieste was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and became the fourth largest city after Vienna, Budapest and Prague.

Here’s some sights in Trieste that is worth visiting: 

1. Piazza Unità d'Italia, a large square on the sea front with nice architecture, which houses the Town Hall and Municipio di Trieste.  We spent some quiet time wandering around the waterfront area of Trieste, the main piazzas, dining and shopping venues that are close to the bay front. It was a divine intervention!  

Evening scene with City Hall

The real Italy

Trieste is the wealthiest in all of Italy

2.Canal Grande and James Joyce Statue, indeed a great place to stroll or enjoy a drink and dinner at any of the cafes along the canal. 

Trieste's lovely Grand Canal

3.Sea Front, with a harbour to wander around and watch the sea & the sunset.

A view of Trieste, Italy

A view of Trieste, Italy

Marina in Trieste, Italy

Trieste indeed a prosperous Mediterranean port

4.Castle (Miramare Castle/ Castello di Miramare) and its huge gardens built in 1856 for the Austrian Habsburgs a mere 150 years ago on the hill side.  

Castle of Miramare and its huge gardens

Castle of Miramare, a place full of exotic plants

A beautiful fountain detail

5.Sea Promenade of Barcola, along the beautiful coast road combined with carsic hills and gulf and sited along the way to Miramare Castle/Viale Miramare with spectacular view of the North Adriatic Sea. 

"Definitely a place for a total peace of mind" - Bhavani

An undiscovered gem

6.The Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Spyridon with its complicated architecture. 

7.Well-preserved Old Roman Theater, built around the first century is located in the center of town.  

Historic center of Trieste

8.Church of San Antonio Nuovo, beautiful basilica built in Neo-Classical style.

Church of San Antonio Nuovo

9.Gigantic Grotto (Grotta Gigante), indeed gigantic and it’s the world's largest tourist cave. 

The Gigantic Grotto

10.Castle and Cathedral of San Giusto, built in the 15th century and located at the top of the hill.

Symbol of Trieste

The Cathedral dedicated to Saint Just (San Giusto)

11.Commercial Centre Le Torri d'Europa, the largest department store in Trieste and located a little outside the city. You can reach there by taking bus #29.
 
12.UNESCO/IAEA Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), an international research institute to foster the growth of advanced studies and research in physical and mathematical sciences in support of excellence in developing countries and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), a global science academy established to promote scientific capacity and excellence. 

Originally, the trip was meant as a sort of a “working trip” for me to attend the 1st International Workshop on “Low-cost 3D Printing for Science, Education and Sustainable Development” which was organised by the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) Science Dissemination Unit (SDU) and co-sponsored by the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS). I arrived at ICTP 2-days ahead on 4 May 2013 and spent a few days there (it’d be rude not to!) exploring the city with Bhavani and my workshop mates. 

The workshop held at ICTP gave me a glimpse of the many possibilities the 3D printing technology provides to science, education and sustainable development. Using digital models and various open source 3D software, the 3D printers can create or replicate solid objects and anatomical replicas for medical and educational purposes in dental surgery out of plastic!   To read more: http://www.ictp.it/about-ictp/media-centre/news/2013/5/3d-printing-at-ictp.aspx

You can be the "author" of your prototype objects

You can be the "author" of your prototype objects

You can be the "author" of your prototype objects

Group photo with the workshop participants

This northern Italian city is definitely not a tourist hotspot. There are no tourists and therefore we saw the real Italy. So we had the luxury of time to relax and enjoy just “being”.

In the end, Trieste turned out to be my favourite spot for this entire trip (thanks to the city for not being a tourist destination). After a few days spent in Trieste, we took the train and returned to Venice.

  

I would really like to take this opportunity to thank ICTP, Trieste from the bottom of my heart for this wonderful opportunity. Of course, there is no way I could forget this trip that could change my life so profoundly. 

GRAZIE MILLE PER TUTTO!!! (Thank you for everything!!!)
 

Air Itinerary Details: 

Penang - Kuala Lumpur  (via Malaysia Airlines MH) and Kuala Lumpur - Instanbul (Ataturk) - Venice (Marco Polo) via Turkish Airlines Inc.  / Venice (Marco Polo) - Instanbul (Ataturk) - Kuala Lumpur via Turkish Airlines Inc.  and Kuala Lumpur – Penang (via Malaysia Airlines MH) 

Accommodation:  
Venice (Venezia) - Hotel Minerva & Nettuno 
Florence (Firenze) - Hotel Stella Mary 
PISA – N/A (1- day-trip from Florence)  
Rome (Roma) – N/A (1- day-trip from Florence) 
Trieste - ICTP Galileo Guesthouse and Hotel Tritone, Trieste (**highly-recommended!
Please book in advance due to rooms are limited) click: http://www.tritonehotel.org/or
e-mail: info@tritonehotel.org 
Venice (Venezia) - San Geremia Rooms

Ticketing: 
Piazza Unità d'Italia – FOC
Miramare Castle/ Castello di Miramare - Euro4,00/person
Gigantic Grotto (Grotta Gigante) – Euro11,00/person
Canal Grande and James Joyce Statue – FOC
Old Roman Theater – FOC

Local Transportation: 

(i)FLORENCE (FIRENZE SMN) - MESTRE - TRIESTE CENTRALE 

Departure time: 3.23p.m. - 4.23p.m. (Firenze - Mestre) & 4.23p.m. - 6.16 p.m. (Mestre - Trieste) 

Fare type:  42,40 Euro/pax /way (Normal Fare - 2nd Class Ticket)  

(ii) TRIESTE CENTRALE - VENEZIA S. LUCIA  

Departure time:9.18a.m. - 11.26a.m.

Fare type: 13,85Euro/pax/way (Normal Fare - 2nd Class Ticket)

“Travel far enough, you meet yourself” - David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

**The photos were captured and edited with iPhone 5.  Images are for illustrative purposes only.

 

Welcome to Small World! This blog allows me to share my travel experiences with others in a straightforward and far-reaching way. I often made great use of other peoples travel blogs and websites every time I plan for my travel itinerary as they often contained most updated information and invaluable resources from their past travel experiences. I really hope that you will find every piece of information contained within my blog handy and useful for your upcoming trip. Thank you very much for reading my post(s) and feel free to leave a comment/testimonial or even click "Like/Share" if you love reading them all xoxo. 
  
The writer is a passionate traveler who enjoys speaking to young keen travelers about the freedom to get cultured and to taste the fullness of life. Feel free to contact the writer: chengywong@gmail.com if you need any travel guidance or tips or if you have any burning questions with regards to your upcoming trip/ journey 

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