There are good reasons for a geek to visit Trieste. Because it's a city of science and research, home of the The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics - ICTP, of the SISSA - International School for Advanced Studies, of the Area Science Park and the Laboratory of light produced by synchrotron Elettra, ecc., you would say...

No no, the reason is simpler then this. Trieste, a cosmopolitan city for it's history and culture,  enclosed in a natural frame of rare beauty, offers occasions for relax hard to find elsewhere. The geeks from Trieste appreciate it mainly for this.

But be careful, those fascinated by information technology in Trieste are not like the SlashDotters, they have some noteworthy peculiarities. Just look at the Trieste Linux User Group Trieste, an atypical LUG by our own admission, most attentive to the eno-gastronomic delights, it prefers to organize the discussions about the OS of choice at the mythical dinners (the so called "Zene" in a traditional osteria or osmizza (don't worry, we'll explain the terms later on).


If you want to appreciate Trieste, and to live a memorable experience as the geeks from Trieste, you should first learn the habit of saving the batteries of your laptop (just to remind you the magic word in Linux is #shutdown -h now). If you take a walk in summer on the Riviera of Barcola and you would like to pick up a mula (s/mula/girl) at the "Topolini" seashore, the laptop is of no use, the true triestin geek prefers topless to wireless.

If you are looking for some "vida loca", you are waisting your time, it's the wrong place, go to the near Portorose instead, the luxury does not live here, but if you love nature, culture, the great cuisine, and you like to practice sport, this is the right place for you, or we should say the best?

If you would like to get to know Trieste, you'll need at least a weekend. We will propose some alternative itineraries that you could try in two days, showing you the photos so that you can choose according to your preferences.


If you arrive to Trieste traveling by car from the coastal road (Strada Costiera) or by train, you'll quickly understand why the Triestini are so in love with their city: here the nature had made a masterpiece, you'll see candid limestone cliffs, that have been shaped in the millenniums by the bora wind and water, precipitate to the crystal blue sea of the gulf. The green of the pines is mixed in autumn with the shiny red color of the Sommaco and in the evenings, from the border of the Carso plateau, it not unusual to be able to admire some breathtaking sunsets.
Arrived to the city center (see the satellite image) you can begin a walking tour between the present and past of Trieste, starting at the Piazza Unità d'Italia, undoubtedly one of the most beautiful squares facing the sea where you can stop in a historical Cafe in the surroundings.

A hint that will confirm you the image of a city tailored for geeks is the centrality of coffee in everyday life. The average Triestine drinks twice as much coffee per year as the other Italian people (informed sources report more then 10 kg per person a year, compared to the 5 kg of the Italian average), this is a sign of a remarkable presence of geeks and advanced developers, that are able to smell the difference between the Robusta and Arabica.



Trieste offers all kind of services related to the coffee trade: raw coffee dealers, brokers, specialized shipping and transport companies, more than twenty roasting companies, laboratories and qualified experts, branches well known around the world. For these reasons Trieste is widely acknowledged as the Mediterranean capital city of coffee. Today, 42% of the entire amount of imported product passes through the Trieste Customs before reaching the various Italian roasting companies.
Advanced research centers in Trieste are studying the coffee DNA for the genetic improvement of coffee quality.
But the geeks of Trieste do not like to have a cup of coffee seated in front of a personal computer, diluted in water as in the scenes seen in American films. Coffee is a ritual and the historical cafés are it's churches, the rare places where you can have a cup of coffee sitting at a table, talking with friends or reading a book. You'll discover that they were the meeting places for local intellectuals Italo Svevo, Umberto Saba, James Joyce. Yes, you've read it well, Joyce had stayed in Trieste for as long as 11 years, gathering here the inspiration for his most famous works (so, if you walk on the bridge of Piazza Ponterosso you'll be able to recognize the man represented by the statue on the sidewalk).

In this Cafés, the price of a cup of coffee, indeed quite high, assures you that nobody will disturb you, the waiter will not hurry you to leave the table for the next customer, at most he'll offer you a slice of cake, Struccolo de Pomi, of Presnitz or of the torta Sacher, a delicious heritage of the Austro-Hungarian past of Trieste. 


Simple instructions on how to order your cup of coffee: the true geek orders the Ristretto, only the heart of coffee, (someone prefers it without sugar), a single shot of coffee served in small espresso cups, very hot to preserve the aroma.
Then it comes the Nero, the classic cup of coffee, that fills half of the cup, or the Gocciato, spotted with a touch of steamed milk.
If you order the Capuccino (Capo for friends) do not expect a big cup with a lot of milk (this thing, suited only for kids, it's the Caffelatte), the cup of the Capo it's the same small espresso cup, but this time it's filled to the brink with frothy milk. Then, for the spoilt Geeks there is a "Capo in B", where the B stands for bicchiere (coffee served in a small glass). For those that prefer other poisons to caffeine, can order the Capo in B Deca.


From the Piazza Unità you can continue your walk on the seaside, le Rive, a walk in the middle of the sea on the San Carlo dock (now Molo Audace), right in front of the Piazza Unità, with a splendid view on the seaside from the sea, and a horizon that ranges to Carnic Alps.

For those with a passion for boats and marinery, we suggest a visit to a special museum, hard to find elsewhere: the Civico Museo del Mare  it includes some of the most important collections dedicated to the Mediterranean region. The exhibition illustrates the maritime history of Trieste, that became an important commercial harbor when it was part of the Austrian Empire. The collections include models (the real ones, as used in the shipyards), navigation instruments, anchors and tackles, lights, maps and drawings, reproductions of Adriatic harbors.

During summer, from the seashore, on the Pescheria dock, you can board on a boat of the Trieste Trasporti company (the service is active from 15th april to 15th October) that will bring you to Barcola or Grignano, where you can visit the Miramare castle. You can drive there by bus, with the line n.6 or 36, but by sea is quite a different experience.

Overlooking the Bay of Grignano, the gorgeous white stone Castello di Miramar, was built by the architect  Karl Junker on commission of the Archduke Maximilian, brother of Franz Josef between the 1856 and 1860. It is surrounded by the sea and a beautiful park. Ideal for pleasant strolls, the Parco di Miramar offers a series of delightful paths above the Bay, manicured gardens, pavilions, a greenhouse and several ponds.
Elisabeth the empress of Austria and queen of Hungary, friendly called Sissi, stayed there for some time, as guest of Maximilian of Habsburg and his wife Charlotte of Belgium.

A legend tells that to welcome the empress the city of Trieste was made particularly beautiful and in an elegant cake shop in the center of the city was produced for the first time a sweet made for the occasion with a dough similar to puff pastry and enriched with eggs stuffed with a mixture containing raisins, almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, and liquor. On it it was written "If you travel the world return here". It was given the name of "Preis Prinzessin" that the triestini "simplified" to Presnitz. The sweet of the princess can be savored in all the best cake shops in Trieste and you'll find it on the table in the occasion of all the traditional holidays.

The inside of the building is furnished with original furniture of that epoch. The love of Maximilian for the sea is proved by the fact that the castle is built in a manner that from all of the windows you have a view to the sea. The furniture of the bedroom is similar to that of the cabin of a ship. The park of the castle is an example of harmony between nature and man's work and deserves itself a visit.

The sea in front of the castle is part of the  Marine Natural Reserve of Miramare, the first marine protected area in Italy, administered by the WWF that runs a center for guided tours and teaching.
In the middle of the park, you can visit, in the historical greenhouses, the Tropical Park, a reconstructed tropical ecosystem, where you can watch butterflies, parrots and colibris, able to move freely and not constrained in small cages. The Grignano Bay near the castle it's the preferred beach resort of the people from Trieste and surroundings.

Let's see now how you can spend a wonderful evening in Trieste. If you happen to visit Trieste with your sweetheart we suggest a stroll along the sea shore, if you are fortunate enough you'll be able to witness a breathtaking sunset. Then you can decide for a good dinner in a seafood restaurant on the Rive. Or you can savor the bitter taste of beer in one of the many birrerie (local pubs).   At least you can get to know better the people of Trieste.

If you love art, we suggest a visit to the Revoltella museum, in summer, four days a week,  it's opened in the evenings too, the art expositions are combined with cultural happenings and concerts. In the summer evenings you can visit the panoramic terraces with a 360 degrees view all'over the gulf and the city, and, of course, a friendly café.

The first impression you'll get around Trieste and it's people would be that of a sharp city, people that tend to go to great lengths to avoid having to make conversation, slightly mad, rather surly. But when you get to know them better, you'll be able to appreciate their straightforwardness, their friendly and cheerful nature.

You'll realize that as soon as you try to spend a cheerful evening in a local osmizza on the Carso plateau, places of perdition where the wine, and other farm products, are sold and consumed directly on the premises or the cellar of the producer. The name derives from sloven name osmica (osem means eight in sloven). In the ancient times of empress Maria Theresa of Austria (1717 - 1780), a special decree allowed the osmizze to be opened for no more than 8 days, now prolonged to one month, it depends of the quantity of wine produced by the farmer. The opening period is not scheduled in advance and is signaled with a green ivy branch, as a road sign. Beware of the dried signals, the good osmizza closes in a week as the good wine gets sold out quickly...You'll understand that actually the only sharp thing in Trieste is the wine that is produced on the Carso, in the surroundings of Trieste, the Terrano. It's a wine with a definitely sour taste; at first it seems intractable, like the nature that gave it birth, but as time passes by it becomes more pleasant, as the people that produces it, and may even become sweet, after it loses its youthful arrogance.
The precious grapes cultivated in rows, on the terraced steep slopes that descend to the sea,   exposed to the sun, produce wines of good quality and a strong character. Among the white wines are particularly worth to mention the Vitovska and Malvasia, that are having a huge success due to the efforts of experienced wine-dressers.

An excursion in Val Rosandra
You cannot leave Trieste without having visited the Rosandra Valley (Klinšca in slovene). Actually it resembles to a canyon more than to a valley, carved in limestone by the Rosandra torrent, due to the presence of an edge between the sandstone and the limestone, it has a rich flora, with rare and endemic species.
The itinerary begins at the village of Boljunec (Bagnoli della Rosandra). It can be easily reached by bus, lines 40 or 41 or by car (about 10 km from the city center), tracking the road signs to Dolina (San Dorligo della Valle). From the main square of   Bagnoli, following the asphalted road (closed to traffic in the weekends) you'll reach the alpine shelter "Mario Premuda", probably the shelter at the lowest altitude in Italy (80m). It was built by the pioneers of free climbing in 1940,  to serve as a base for the excursions in the Valley, today it serves as a good point of restoration for tourists and the triestini that are searching some refreshment in the hot summer evenings.
The Valley it's a natural gym for free-climbing, more than 100 routes of different technical difficulty, up to the rating of 7, some already opened at the beginning of the century by the famous climber Emilio Comici.
In the torrent, that formed some curious pools, eroding the limestone rock in the centuries, it is possible to go bathing in summer.

The local East-NorthEast wind called Bora, when channeled through the Valley, reaches a considerable speed. On the Sella della Bora (in the photo), the particular form of the rock works as a lunching pad, as the compressed wind expands again on the upper edge with no obstacles. In the days of strong Bora the wind reaches at this point speeds of more than 200 km/h, it's impossible to stand, it's quite an experience to try, but be careful, you could see the stones fly!
Near the shelter of Premuda you would notice the ruins of the antique roman aqueduct that brought the water to the city of Tergeste (the old roman name for Trieste), following a track about 17 km long and with the only help of a minimum difference in height (one of the many architectural miracles of the Antique Romans).

Following the main path named Steza Prijateljstva (Path of Friendship) as it continues over the border in Slovenia, you'll reach the water-fall of the torrent, a beautiful leap of more than 30 meters, for those non very experienced we suggest to watch the waterfall from the distance, on the path, as descending to the bottom of the fall could be quite dangerous.
On the right you'll find a fork to the small church of S. Maria in Siaris, already present in the 13th century, a pilgrimage takes place there at the 15th of august and it's a good itinerary to admire a beautiful view over the valley. For those more reckless it's possible to continue to the Cippo Comici, a monument dedicated to Emilio Comici and the mythical group of climbers called i "Bruti della Val Rosandra", a famous group of the heroic alpinism, the first explorers of the modern freeclimbing techniques, that moved their first steps in the natural gym of the Val Rosandra.Walking ahead on the main path you'll reach the small village of Botazzo, not more than 10 houses. From here you can continue on the left, on the road that leads to the old railway tracks that in the old days linked Trieste to the village of Hrpelje, now transformed in a bicycle track that descends from the Val Rosandra to the district of Campo Marzio in Trieste.When you'll pass a house that once was a small train station you'll encounter two tunnels, then, after no more than 500 meters you can choose a small path on the left (path n.15), be careful, it's a little hidden in the bushes.
This path leads to an open space with great trees where once stood the castle of Moccò that dominated the valley. The near belvedere is well worth a short walk, as the view embraces the whole valley and the upper part of the village of Bagnoli, where we started our excursion. From there you can descend directly to the Rifugio Premuda.

The Tram de Opcina and the Napoleonica

Another interesting itinerary begins in the center of Trieste from the central square Piazza Oberdan with the famous and beloved tramway Tram de Opcina, by electric traction on the entire line, supplemented by a cable section (the only one of its kind) to help to overcome the huge difference in height to reach the village of Opčine (Villa Opicina) on the Carso plateau, 348 m above sea level.

After more than a century of active service it can still offer wonderful emotions to the local residents (it's still their preferred way to reach Opicina) and the tourists also find this original means of transportation (a cross between an extra urban tram and a cable railway) an unforgettable moment of their visit of Trieste. The tram car bearing no. 411 is the oldest tram still running in Europe today. Along the way you'll enjoy a particular view over the city. When you arrive to Villa Opicina we suggest a pleasant stroll on the Napoleonica road, a path in the woods between high limestone rocks that leads from Opicina to the village of Prosek (Prosecco). The open view ranges all over the Gulf of Trieste and a vast part of the city.
Being exposed to the sun and protected from the Bora, it's a very pleasant itinerary even in the cold winter days.
To reach the beginning of the path, you have return back from the station of the tramway at Opicina, following the tracks till you see a great white obelisco, a monument erected in 1830 in memory of the emperor of Austria, that ordered the building of the commercial road that connected the port of the Empire to the capital of Austria. The path is quite leveled and continues for about 3 kilometers. It ends near some high limestone rocks, a good place to practice free climbing and bouldering.
The walk continues on the asphalted road till you reach a small fountain, and right behind it the path continues with a sign number 12 (follow the red and white signs on the trees and on the rocks) leading to the strange church named Tempio Mariano del Monte Grisa (see the panorama on the photo).
From here you can continue your walk following the signs that will lead you again to the Obelisco monument.





We could continue with other itineraries and curiosities about Trieste, but we prefer to refer you back to other websites, one for the many http://www.trieste.com.
Hoping to have aroused sufficient curiosity, we'll give you another reason to visit Trieste: in our city it's based the nicest Linux User Group, whose members, other than hacking around their preferred OS, will be able to give you further directions and to tell you other interesting stories about this unique and charming city.