Torch Tour Town: Trieste

The Olympic torch was in Trieste yesterday, a town I hope to visit when I’m
in Italy this coming summer. Nestled between the mountains and the sea, it is one of the oldest cities in the country,
a historic seaport village located at the northeast tip of the Adriatic. Sites to see include the Roman ruins, Vittoria
Lighthouse, the Cathedral of St Giusto, Duino Castle, Miramare Castle and the Miramare Nature Reserve. Triste is an
ancient settlement that was under rule of Austria after years as a Roman colony. After WWI the town became part of
Italy once again, only to be claimed by Yugoslavia after WWII, mainly because the population outside Triste is
predominantly Slovenian. Triste became part of Italy again in 1954. The town has a university, founded in 1924. It is
often overlooked but has served as home to many writers and artists through the years, among them travel writer Jan
Morris, who wrote Trieste and the Meaning of
Nowhere
in 2000. The 17th annual Trieste Film Festival kicks off
today, devoted to the cinema of Central and Eastern Europe and beyond. It runs through the 26th. The torch is on day 42
of it’s tour, stopping in Udine today and on to Tarvisio tomorrow. We’ll catch up with it again next week.