ICTP - The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy

Free Tours Around Trieste for ICTP Visitors

Information provided by Sergio Bradaschia

Introduction
How to register for a tour
Brief description of tours

Last year experience has reconfirmed the success of this initiative. Buses were full and scientists showed great interest. Following the suggestions from the questionnaires distributed to participants a tour to the Revoltella Museum was included for the first time last year and it was an immediate success.

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to inform with too much anticipation about the date and program of each tour.

As soon as it is known, information about a tour is posted on several bulletin boards located around the ICTP campus. Usual locations include:

• Main Building: Right hand side of the hall, in front of the Computing Section.
• Adriatico Building: In front of the reception counter.
• Galileo Building: In front of the reception counter.

At the Main Building location, a blank sheet of paper is posted along with the information. If you want to register for a tour you just have to write your name on that sheet. You can also register other family members. Please do not forget to include them because the space on the buses is limited and we must know exactly how many seats are already occupied before registering more people.

Note: If a confirmed participant cannot go, he/she is kindly requested to cross out their name from the list. This would allow other scientists to move up in the waiting list.

For further information, please contact Sergio Bradaschia at brady@ictp.trieste.it

1. Borgo Grotta Gigante

   The Grotta Gigante (Giant Cave) is less than ten miles from Trieste, near a village of the same name. The picturesque Opicina tramway line connects it to the town. Its more than 100 meters high, 65 meters wide and 280 meters long make it the largest cave in the world. It could easily contain St. Peter's Cathedral. It is rich in calcareous concretions. It opens to the public throughout the year. The nearby Museum of Speleology is also worth a visit.
   

2. Village and Sanctuary of Monrupino

   The village of Monrupino was built 149 meters above sea level on the area of a Castelliero occupied by the Romans. The Castellieri are the remains of villages dating back to the Bronze Age. They were built on hills and surrounded by sound loose-laid walls. Some remains of the walls can still be seen nowadays in this area.

   A fortress (Tabor) was later erected in the same place in the XIV century. It was used as a shelter during the Turkish invasions. In 1512, a shrine was built on the site of a previous sacred building. The compound towers over the surrounding hills, offering to the visitor a splendid panoramic view of the Carso.
   

3. Church of San Giovanni in Tuba

   The church is situated near the Foci del Timavo (Mouths of the Timavo), a river that runs underground for 35 kilometres and surfaces again at this location. Known since Roman times, it is even mentioned in Virgil's Aeneid. The Gothic-style church was built on the foundations of an earlier paleo-Christian building from the V-VI centuries. A mosaic floor of this period is still partially visible. Parts of the walls seem even older. It is believed that the building was built on the ruins of a Roman temple dedicated to the Spes Augusta.
   

4. Duino Castle

   Two castles were built in Duino in one of the most beautiful spots on the gulf. The older castle, of which there are still some remains on a rocky spur, was built in the XI century and was the first residence of the Duinati - feudal vassals of the Patriarch of Aquileia. It was probably the last member of the family, Ugone VI , who ordered the New Castle to be built. In the courtyard there is an older tower, probably dating back to Roman times. The Torriani family turned the fortress into a princely residence, which later became the property of the Prince of Hohenlohe and is now owned by His Highness the Prince of Torre e Tasso. Parts of it are used as the seat of the United World College of the Adriatic. Many famous people have stayed in the castle, allegedly including Dante Alighieri. Rainer Maria Rilke composed the Duino Elegies during one of his stays and his name was given to the beautiful footpath extending from the Castle to the bay of Sistiana. Walking along one of the most fascinating parts of the Trieste coastline, the visitor finds himself in a unique natural habitat. The landscape is full of shady woods and sunny maquis. Some of the last remaining examples of the Peregrine Falcon build their nests in the steep cliffs rising above the sea.

5. Aurisina

   Aurisina is well known for the ancient Roman Caves. The marble basin, active since the Roman period, is known throughout the world for the marbles Breeciato d'Aurisina and Aurisina Fiorito. With this stone important buildings were made in Trieste, Milano, Vienna, Praga, Budapest, Paris and some cities in America and Egypt. Close to Aurisina there are lots of small villages with typical Carsic architecture and excellenet restaurants.

6. Sistiana Bay

   Sistiana bay is a well-known tourist resort with hotels, restaurants, bathing establishments and a shipping line connecting it with Trieste.
   

7. Miramare Castle

   Miramare castle is the famous residence of Maximilian of Habsburg and his consort, Charlotte of Belgium. The castle, which was built between 1856 and 1860 by Cari Junker, is faced with bright Istria stone. The interior contains numerous works of art, and clearly reflects the taste and habits of the Vienna Court. The archduke took great care on improving the castle, which is surrounded by a beautiful Park with secluded corners and rare exotic trees that render it absolutely unique. The Castle hosted Duke Amedeo of Aosta and in 1945 it became the headquarters of the Allies' military command. The hydrological and biological conditions of the stretch of sea surrounding the castle support an exceptional habitat. In fact, the area is populated by every species of sea organism existing in the Northern part of the Adriatic sea. For this reason, the Miramare Sea Park was created in 1973. The International Centre of Theoretical Physics is situated near the castle.
   

8. Sanctuary of Monte Grisa

   The sanctuary is situated on top of the hill that towers above the sea in an area once occupied by two Castellieri. The original idea for the sanctuary came from Bishop Monsignor Antonio Santin and, after receiving public support, construction was begun in September 1959. This innovative, daring building made of triangular reinforced concrete modules arranged in a very precise composition was designed by A. Guacci. The building was inaugurated in 1967 and dedicated to Mary Mother of God.
   

9. Faro della Vittoria

   This 70 metre high, white Orsera stone lighthouse stands out on the hill of Gretta. Its beam extends for 36 miles, a distance exceeded only by the lighthouses of New York and Santo Domingo. Designed by A. Beriam, it was built in one of the town's former defensive positions and was inaugurated in 1,927. The sculpture was made by G. Mayer. The anchor situated on the side facing the sea belonged to the Audace, the torpedo-boat destroyer from which the first Italian soldiers landed in 1918.

10. Val Rosandra

    Val Rosandra, wedged in the deep valley of Muggia, is the result of the erosion caused by the Rosandra stream. This rugged valley, which is rich in Alpine vegetation, has numerous steeps and imposing rock walls that are used as training grounds by local rock-climbers. Tourists should not miss the tiny church of Santa Maria in Siaris and the remains of the Roman Aqueduct.
    

11. Muggia

    The village was built in Roman times, under the name of Castrum Muglee, on the hill rising above the present town. Around the XI century it extended down towards the sea, taking the name of Borgo Lauro. At the end of the Istrian wars, the peace treaty signed in Treviso assigned it to the Patriarchate of Aquileia. It was in that period (1,375) that the Patriarch Marquando di Randeck built the castle. Finally, in 1451, the town passed under the rule of the Venetian Republic and took part in the wars against Austria. In that period it acquired its typical Venetian appearance, still evident in the houses located in the Oberdan calle, the Ventian-Gothic facade of the cathedral (Duomo), which dates back to the XV century, and the Mandracchio (port). One of the events for which Muggia is best known is its yearly carnival celebration.

    For more information about Muggia, visit the page put out by the Trieste Chamber of Commerce.

12. Sanctuary of Muggia Vecchia

    The Romanesque Church of Santa Maria Assunta (13th century), probably built over an earlier building from the early Christian period, stands in a dominant, evocative position. It has undergone modifications. It was partially rebuilt at different periods. It now contains many excellent works of art, among which are the ribbon reliefs of the Presbytery's surrounding walls, the sculptures decorating the ambo and the XIII century Romanesque frescoes. The work conducted in 1950 restored the building to its original appearance.
    

Trieste's setting is particularly beautiful with the combination of the shining whiteness of its rocks, the blue sea and the green hills that surround it. Approaching the town along its wonderful coast road, it appears perfectly inserted in the surrounding territory, irrespective of the boundaries separating it from Istria, the formerly Italian territory that now belongs to Slovenia. Its ancient history can still be seen from the Roman ruins on Capitol Hill, the San Giusto Castle and the Roman theatre. The dark ruins of the first Castellieri stand like guards on the hills, as if it was still there for its defense. Memories and images of the past live on in the streets, from the little alleys that wind through the ancient suburbs with their old houses and ruined walls to the wide central streets that cross the new part of the town with its elegant neo-classical buildings.

This contrast gives rise to that particular atmosphere that so endeared Trieste to Umberto Saba, its favourite son, Scipio Slataper, Italo Svevo, James Joyce and many other illustrious poets - an atmosphere that is deeply felt by locals and visitors alike. The most precious gem that surrounds it is Miramare Castle, conjuring up the memory of an unfortunate love-story. Enshrined in the coastal rocks, it gives visitors the chance to admire the most enchanting sunsets.

Throughout its history, Trieste has been a crossroads of different peoples and religions, and its churches still reveal its cosmopolitan heritage. The city is surrounded by the sea and the characteristic karstic highland. These calcareous rocks host an extremely varied flora, including the red sumac and innumerable other flowers of rare beauty. In the tiny Carsiana valley, a botanic garden created near Sgonico, microclimates allow one to admire the multifarious aspects of the flora. There are the perfumes of Mediterranean herbs growing alongside yellow ginestra brooms, burning bushes, windflowers, patentillas and Alpine ferns hidden in the moist winding ravines. Paths marked by the tracks of rock-deer and badgers lead to flowery glades, caves and lairs inhabited by rosy oims - an ancient, almost extinct species of blind amphibian. Along the stony path from Opicina to Monrupino there is a natural basin that contains the little lake of Percedol where white waterlilies and aquatic salamanders float silently on its water.

So visitors may walk along shady paths, rocky gorges, impervious caves, or wide, windswept clearings that offer a landscape of unusual beauty. In the typical, orderly villages scattered around the area, tourists can stop and refresh themselves under the shade of arbors and old trees in country trattorias offering the local wines and dishes of a gastronomic tradition that reflects Trieste's role as a crossroads of different European cultures.

Trieste is an enchanting, hospitable town which offers the chance of a holiday with a difference: the town, the sea and the upland plain convey a particular emotion in the visitor, who will want to return to consolidate a warm friendship.