...Directly behind Piazza dell’Unità, you’ll find the old quarter of Trieste appropriately named Città Vecchia (Old City). Among its winding, narrow streets, Città Vecchia is home to antique shops, bookstores, and Triestino artisans. Goldsmiths, silversmiths, potters, framers, mosaic artists, and wood workers all have their studios in this quaint neighborhood. Visiting their shops is a unique way to get an idea of modern Trieste yet in a historical setting.Behind Città Vecchia, evidence of Trieste’s Roman past surface with the Roman Theater, uncovered in a routine demolition in 1937. Rising up behind the theater is the hill of San Giusto, the nerve center of Roman Tergeste and enormously significant in the history of Trieste. Apart from providing fantastic views of the city, here we have the remains of the Roman forum. From 1202 until 1382, Trieste was ruled by the Republic of Venice.

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The medieval San Giusto Castle and its fortification was built in phases by the Venetians and the Austrians and today is a museum. In the summertime, many concerts are held here.
Coming back downtown from the hill, a stop at the Orto Lapidario is mandatory.
Loosely translated as a Stone Garden, this museum boasts Roman bas-relief work, inscriptions, and architectonic fragments. There is a fantastic Egyptian collection including mummies and an gold jewelry. The suggestive garden, with its Roman capitals scattered about, lends itself beautifully to concerts and events on warm summer evenings.
No visit to Trieste would be complete without a stop to Miramare Castle. Legend has it that Maximilian of the Hapsburgs, brother to Franz Joseph the emperor, discovered the small bay called Grignano while seeking refuge from bad weather while sailing. In 1856, work began on the construction of Miramare Castle, the name indicative of the incredible sea views possible due to its location.

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Maximilian and his wife Charlotte lived for a short time in their castle, which was still under construction. Maximilian was never able to see the completed residence due to his unexpected death in Mexico. During the summer months, the gardens of Miramare host operettas and concerts.The most emotional and educational is without doubt the Risiera di San Sabba. Originally a rice husking factory constructed in 1913, the Nazi occupation in 1943 used the facility as a prison camp and for the execution of partisans, political prisoners, and Jews. Today the Jewish community, primarily of Ashkenazi origin, lives in harmony with the Italian community. Their population has drastically decreased since the 19th century, due to fascist racial laws and deportation. In 1965, the Risiera was declared a national monument.