Times change, but not its prestige, one might think. So why does Piovene say that it is up to us to restart everything?

The port has never stopped, but the architecture that developed from this hub has at times been abandoned. There are many examples that make Trieste unique in the world: buildings in an eclectic style, references to Central European architecture, rationalism and Islamic influences.

All pieces that make up the cultural identity of a city that has made the port the center of gravity of its development.

A brief history of the port of Trieste to understand the contemporary world

You don't have to go far back in time to find the first evidence of the port of Trieste. It was 1717 when the Adriatic became freely navigable and only two years later Trieste became a free port. A concession issued by the emperor Charles VI of Habsburg and subsequently renewed by Maria Theresa of Austria.

A city with similar privileges took little time to establish itself as a crossroads of the most important trade routes.

This led to a continuous expansion of the port facilities in order to handle the large loads of goods arriving and departing daily. Not only the buildings, but also transport benefited from this great development, especially with the construction of the railway line that connected Trieste to Vienna.

Today's port has maintained the commercial functions of the past, also focusing on passenger transport. Since 2010, tourist traffic has seen a huge increase, making it necessary to create a new, modern terminal, which will also support the Asian project of the New Silk Road, aimed at relaunching trade by sea and land between East and West.

The Old Port broadens horizons

This port area dates back to 1868 and is home to warehouses, hangars and equipment now disused, but still a historical and cultural heritage. Even then, one could notice a architectural quality of great value made of expert workmanship and pioneering techniques.

Since 2001, it has been protected by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities in order to preserve and restore it without altering its original appearance. In recent years, several projects have been presented and the one that has attracted the most attention was the one proposed by Atelier(S) Alfonso Femia, Michelangelo Pugliese and Giovanni Damiani.

A linear park with the aim of creating an artificial geography from scratch. The greenery intersects with the water and a new element for the city of Trieste appears in the background: the cable car that will connect the port to the surrounding hills.

Between protests by citizens and doubts about the real economic feasibility, this element remains in doubt or at least awaiting realistic and feasible feasibility studies.

The approved areas are four, the two squares near the Trieste and Porto Vecchio stations, the boulevard that winds alongside the historic buildings and the linear axis from which the entire project propagates. An idea that is partly inspired by the High Line in New York, transforming the disused tracks into a new city park.

The port has not only served as an economic center for the capital of Friuli. The meeting of the multiplicity of cultures from all over the world has given rise to an architectural development where styles overlap and dialogue in unison.

The elegant eighteenth- and nineteenth-century styles of Piazza Unità d’Italia are a clear example of how the Austro-Hungarian style has integrated well with the French and Venetian ones. A mix that has made it one of the most famous squares in Italy and that has also given rise to the development of an architecture where classical canons have lost importance in favor of multiculturalism.

The architectural influences of Trieste as a port city

Built in a prestigious position, with a direct view of the port of Trieste is the Santuario di Monte Grisa. The brutalist architecture of Antonio Guacci has come to the city to celebrate the end of the world conflict and to protect the Barcolana regatta that animates the gulf every year.

A bond with the sea that gave life to the Formaggino, a name given by the locals to this double structure in reinforced concrete that recalls a boat in every element, from the distribution of the lights to the replica of the bridge with the altar that indicates the route to follow.

There is no shortage of references to Le Corbusier in the quadrilateral of Rozzol Melara, a social housing complex that is clearly inspired by the Unitè d’Habitation. A self-sufficient structure born from the utopian visions that arose between the 1960s and 1980s, recently embellished by the Artistic Redevelopment of Built Space project that saw young writers from the city try their hand at murals and street art.

English trade did not only introduce goods and products to the city, but also architectural innovations in rationalist style. To make up for the lack of husbands and companions who were always at sea, Sara Davis, daughter of an English merchant, commissioned a covered market where women could spend hours in company shopping and selling their products.

The structure can accommodate up to 300 stalls and still plays the same role today without the need for structural adjustments thanks to the futuristic ventilation, cladding and thermal insulation systems designed in 1936 by Camillo Iona.

How to conclude an itinerary in the port of Trieste if not on the sea at Bagni Ausonia.

A historic establishment, the result of a retro style and cutting-edge techniques with the appearance of a village on stilts. For years it hosted the Italian Swimming Championships, but it was also a place of fleeting breaks for all those who arrived at or left the port of Trieste for the Adriatic.

In ports, borders disappear, it is as if you lived in a large family where everything is shared from the food on the table to the languages ​​spoken, but it is in the architecture that Trieste has been able to make the best of all the influences.

Cover photo: Getty Images