Description
Leaving Muggia and the recent creation of Porto San Rocco behind, and passing inland and seaward of the breakwaters protecting the bay of Muggia from seas raised by the libeccio wind, the arrival at Trieste is anticipated by the various docks of the Porto Nuovo, dominated by the busy “molo Settimo” (“Pier Seven”). We then continue outside the Sacchetta basin, passing in front of the Stazione Marittima pier, the Audace pier and the beautiful view of Piazza dell’Unità d’Italia from the sea and the Harbourmaster’s offices. We then proceed towards Barcola, passing inland of the breakwater protecting the Porto Vecchio (‘Old Port’). Trieste’s eighteenth-century development is linked to the growth of the port, in the wake of the Habsburgs’ decision to make it the empire’s harbour for the Mediterranean. In 1740, Maria Theresa of Austria had the salt flats drained and built on, giving rise to the Borgo Teresiano which maintains the typical geometry of the evaporating basins, and leaving the Canal Grande (‘Grand Canal’) which used to feed the flats with seawater. In 200 years, the city grew from 4,000 to 200,000 inhabitants: it was the third-largest city in the Austro-Hungarian Empire after Vienna and Prague, and the capital of the Austrian Adriatic Coast. The splendour of the Belle Epoque, during which the city became increasingly multi-ethnic and multicultural, waned completely after the two world wars. A pleasant way to discover Trieste and its sea is to stroll along the Rive, starting from Molo Audace (Audace Pier), so called because the first Italian warship to moor there in 1918 was a destroyer of the same name, and continue past the Molo Bersaglieri and Molo Sartorio to visit the Civic Aquarium, the former fish market (Pescheria Grande), the Sacchetta basin and Museum of the Sea.
Places of interest
Until 2008, the traditional stroll along the Rive would also take in the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, which has now been moved to a modern and...
At the end of the Rive, near the basin of the Sacchetta and with its entrance in via di Campo Marzio 5, this museum offers displays on three...
The Aquarium opened its doors in 1933, adapting the plant in the rooms on the right side of the central fish market, including the clock tower....
Located at the start of Riva Nazario Sauro there is a building that resembles a church so much that the local Triestini dubbed it “Santa...
he Porto Vecchio (‘Old Port’) of Trieste was planned as an example of cutting-edge technology in the harbour sector and was built...
Fish
The anchovy is a small, pelagic, migratory and gregarious fish. It lives in deep water throughout the year in huge shoals that can sometimes include...
This long and quite unmistakeable crustacean is a member of the family Squillidae and can grow to a maximum length of 20 cm. The body is covered in a...
The grey mullet is a member of the family Mugilidae, which includes some eighty species of fresh- and salt-water fish. The grey mullet is...
The blotched picarel is a member of the family Sparidae. It is a hermaphrodite species, so that all the young under two years of age are female,...
The curled octopus is a mollusc of the family Octopodidae and has no particular preferences as regards substrate, although it appears more widespread...
The gilt-head bream is a bony member of the family Sparidae and can be found in the sea and in brackish coastal waters. The name comes from the...
The common Pandora is a member of the family Sparidae with a slim, oval, laterally compressed body that can reach 60 cm in length. The colouration...
The white seabream is the most common type of seabream in the Mediteranean and can be found on both sandy and rocky bottoms. It has a high, laterally...
The mackerel, measuring 25-30 cm, is a typical blue fish and an omnivorous, streamlined pelagic predator that lives in large shoals. Its colouring...
The sole is a flatfish with an oval and extremely compressed body. The head is small with a rounded face and small, arched mouth positioned...
Vegetation
Frequent in the sea and in lagoons, and like dwarf eelgrass forms extensive fields which are very important for fish and waterfowl.
A halophyte (salt-tolerant) species not present in salt marshes but on rocky coasts and harbour works such as jetties and embankments, even in...
A halophyte species, it forms populations in salt marshes and in the areas used to trap fish in the presence of moderate salinity. Widespread in...
A species of evergreen oak, it is the main constituent of the Mediterranean maquis and locally can be found between the Timavo river and Miramare...
It appears in cultivated woods of pine and has spread widely in natural fashion on the Karst plateau, and is present also in the coastal pine...
A North American species common in cultivated areas and along rivers. Used for poles and firewood.
A shrub and small tree, it is resistant to drought and salty soils as mentioned by D’Annunzio in the poem “la pioggia nel...
Frequent in the sea at a depth of less than 5 metres and in lagoons, especially where there are fresh water inlets. It colonises tidal flats,...
Traditions
In order to exploit the mild influence of the Mediterranean, the Triestine coast has for centuries been modified in order to cultivate crops on...
When the temperature of the water in the Gulf reaches 18-20° in late spring and early summer, fishermen begin to capture anchovies with lamps...
This is a dry and very cold continental wind blowing from E-NE at gusts of up to 160 kph and more. It can blow this hard for several days...
Fishing for tuna along this stretch of coast used to be done in what is probably a unique manner, thanks to the morphology of the Carso, which...
Fish traps are an example of passive fishing equipment and can be used to catch various types of fish, crustaceans and molluscs; they consist of...
These are a typical feature of the local countryside in the Carso and Gorizia region, whereby farmers can offer their wine, ham and cheeses...
Surrounding nets are cast around shoals of fish located or artificially drawn together and are hauled in immediately. Surrounding nets are highly...
Gillnets are passive nets: in other words, they capture fish as they swim along, but are themselves fixed with respect to the water or the bottom....
In the late nineteenth century, the Austrian Adriatic was divided into 8 marine districts, one of which was Trieste. There, the coastal fishing...
Habitats
In order to exploit the mild influence of the Mediterranean, the Triestine coast has for centuries been modified in order to cultivate crops on...
The Carso is a long plateau facing SE-NW, sloping slightly downwards towards the west. The eastern part reaches about 400 metres in height, while...
Birds
19-21 cm, sexes similar. There is a grey variety and a rufous one. It is a small owl with ear tufts and a characteristic and insistent song. Present...
37-43 cm, sexes similar, light grey upperparts, white in the lower parts, with a black cap and a tuft on the head, the beak black with light-coloured...
30-35 cm, sexes similar. Dark above and white lower parts. Aggregates in flocks offshore from spring to autumn; it does not nest here and its...
10.5-12 cm - sexes similar. Evident brown grey tuft. Present throughout the year in the pine forests of the Carso, including the cliffs of Duino and...
10-11.5 cm, sexes similar. A small tit with characteristic white patch on the nape. Present all year, it nests in the pinewoods of the Carso and...
77-94 cm, sexes similar. Like pelicans and boobies, they have the 4 fingers joined by a membrane to facilitate swimming. The species is present...
35-39 cm, sexes similar. In February, it gains the dark brown cap for the breeding season, which it then loses in July-August. Present throughout the...
37-40 cm, sexes similar. Compared to the black-headed gull, the beak is more massive and coral-red, it has a black head – during nesting – and...
52-58 cm, sexes similar. Grey upperparts, white lower parts. Present throughout the year and abundant, nesting in the lagoon, on the roofs of houses...
40-46 cm, sexes similar. It is smaller than the black-headed gull. Present from November to April, numerous in some winters, it frequents the sea,...
37-44 cm, sexes similar. It has several colour morphs, a dark one – almost totally dark brown – and a light one with dark cap and whitish...
68-78 cm, sexes similar. It has a short tuft that appears in adults in winter and early spring. Present throughout the year, it becomes rare in...
17-19 cm, sexes similar. Blue upperparts, red underparts with large, dark beak dark and very short tail, which in flight makes it resemble a...
13-14 cm, male with black head and red eye, the female brown with grey head. Present throughout the year, it nests in warm coastal scrubland between...
18 to 20.5 cm light brown uppers. white on the lower parts. The wings have a narrow light-coloured bar and are often blocked briefly in flight....
48-56 cm, sexes similar, plumage varies widely, generally brown with light patches. Present all year round, most numerous even in the largest lagoon...
17-21 cm, sexes similar. Black upperparts, red throat and whitish belly. Present from March to April and from September to October, it nests in rural...
52-58 cm, the male with dark green head and white neck, the female with reddish head. Present during wintering, it is frequent during the spring...
34-37 cm, sexes similar. Light grey upperparts and white underparts, with black cap and red beak. It is the classic tern, frequent from April to...
63-75 cm, sexes similar. In winter the plumage is dark grey above, whitish underneath; the beak is more massive and held flat compared to the...
55-67 cm, sexes similar. In winter, the plumage is grey, and whitish underneath. Present in winter at sea and in the deepest areas of the lagoons....
24-28 cm, sexes similar. Well-camouflaged, recalling a carpet of dead leaves. Of crepuscular and nocturnal habits, it can be observed in flight while...
85-97 cm, sexes similar, the adults being black and white and juveniles all black: this is the largest seabird normally observed in the...
46-51 cm, sexes similar. Grey upper part, whitish beneath, while in its nuptial plumage it reveals obvious tufts on the head and below the eyes....
28-34 cm, sexes similar. Grey and off-white in winter, in March it has a black neck and a yellow tuft behind a red eye. Present from August to April,...
25-29 cm, sexes similar, orange plumage striped with black, erectile crest on the head, flickering flight. Present from April to September and fairly...
