Trieste (Latin Tergeste, Slovenian and Croatian Trst, German Triest) is a city in northeastern Italy, capital of Friuli-Venezia Giulia region and Trieste province, population 211,184 (2001).

Overview

The sights in Trieste include Miramare, a romantic castle built in 19th century for Austrian Archduke Maximilian and his wife. On the coastal road to Trieste is the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, operating under the aegis of UNESCO and IAEA.

Through a long period of time, Trieste was seen as being peripheral to the centres of Italian commerce and culture, and lost influence - however lately it has been gaining influence as Italy's window to the east (former Yugoslavia). The Kosovo War saw large numbers of refugees passing through the city, which is now negotiating cooperation with Slovenian ports and expanding business with former Yugoslavia.

The local dialect of the Trieste region is called "Triestino" in Italian language and "Triestin" in the local language itself. It pronounces "Tree-ae-steen".

History

By 177 BC, Trieste was under the control of Roman Empire. Trieste was granted the status of a colony under Julius Caesar. It was also he that recorded its name as Tergeste in his Comentarii de bello Gallico in 51 BC.

After the end of the Western Roman Empire (in 476) Trieste was first under the authority of their count-bishop, then (from the year 1081) loosely under the Aquileia's patriarchy, then (from the year 1369) under the Venetian Republic, then (from the year 1372) a free commune and then, (from the year 1382) to free themselves from Venice, the Triestins donated the city to Leopold III von Habsburg, duke of Austria. (External link: The original latin version of the Dedication (http://triestemia.com/storia/dedizione2.htm))

During the Middle Ages, Trieste grew into an important port and trade hub. Its role as the principal Austrian commercial port was emphasized by the construction of the Vienna–Trieste railway, completed in 1857.

By the end of the 19th century, Trieste was a buzzing cosmopolitan city, frequented by artists such as James Joyce, Zlatko Balokovic and Italo Svevo. The city was a very real part of Mitteleuropa, with a cosmopolitan mix of Italian, German and Slavic cultures, and a feeling of being a border town that it retains today.

The thought of an Italian population under Austrian domination was an offense for Italian nationalists, who considered Trieste the main "unredeemed" territory; whence the term "irredentism" for the movement pleading for incorporation to the Italian state of every Italian population.

In 1918, after the end of World War I and the disintegration of Austria-Hungary, Trieste became a part of Italy.

At the end of World War II, on May 2, 1945, the troops of Yugoslav 4th Army together with the Slovenian 9th Corpus NLA entered the town. The German Army surrendered to the New Zealand troops with the Allied forces entered the town the same day.

After WWII, in 1947, Trieste became the capital of the Free Territory of Trieste. When that state was de facto dissolved in 1954, it reverted back to Italy.