Trieste is in the far north-eastern
corner of Italy, surrounded by Slovenia and close to
Croatia. Till the First World War it was the major seaport
of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. My mother was born in nearby
Gorizia, her sister Silvana was born in Trieste, when my
mother and my grandparents were living at Via Tigor, 5. My
great great great grandfather Samson Schiff was a
silversmith here in the 1850s, with a shop in Via San
Sebastiano.
The
Region
The
Area
The
Apartment
The
City
Trieste is connected to mainland
by a long strip along the coast. You travel along its
length from the airport at Ronchi dei Legionari.
This is a nineteenth-century bird's-eye view of Trieste from the west. The arrow points to San Giusto, hilltop site of the cathedral, and of the Roman town of Tergeste. This is also where we bought our apartment.
A town plan of Trieste. Behind the cathedral the hill is dominated by the large, fifteenth-century Venetian castle. The arrow points to Via Risorta, behind the castle, where we have our apartment.