"Joyce, Svevo, Shoppers ... and VT Friends" Trieste by oja

Trieste Travel Guide: 744 reviews and 1,940 photos

<B><font color=cornflowerblue>Find me a Slovenian who has never been to Trieste and I'll congratulate you warmly. I haven't met such person yet. Situated a stone's throw over the Western border, Trieste has always been 'our town', a bit for a Slovenian minority living there, but mostly because it was such a convenient shopping destination. Until 1990 you had to buy your clothes in Trieste or you were nobody. Nearly all of us got our first pair of jeans on Ponte Rosso, a sort of synonim of cheap trade where you can still see people peddling socks and clothes of dubious quality. After the notorious curtain went down and purchasing power went up we traded it for boutiques, but remained faithful to shopping sprees. And we never really looked around ourselves to see if there was anything more the city could offer.

Now ask Slovenians another question: do they know that James Joyce spent a good deal of his life there and perhaps wrote some of his masterpieces in the close vicinity of their favourite shop? I bet many won't know that. Which is a pity. Trieste with its history, atmosphere and fine examples of architecture surely deserves more attention that it gets. This time I went to see it as such. I admit, sometimes I had to make an effort to look away from the shop windows with huge discount posters (gulp!), but at the end of the day it was worth it. Even when the train conductor looked at me funny when he asked me 'Done any good shopping?' and I replied, 'No, none at all.'

But as many of you know, the true reason for my daytrip lay somewhere else. My unfortunate friend Utttz broke his shoulder there (the plastic demonstration of which you can see on his own Trieste page), and I didn't think twice before taking the chance to go and soothe his pain a bit (oooh, what a sacrifice it was!!!). However, as a true VT-er I couldn't miss an opportunity to make a page, so I grabbed my camera and sharpened my observation. Come see what turned out!

Last visit to Trieste: Jun 2002
Intro Written Sep 9, 2002
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Reviews (12)

Architectural gems from the... - Trieste

Architectural gems from the... Things to Do (6)

Architectural gems from the turn of the century - like this palace on Piazza Unita d'Italia. more travel advice

Roam through those narrow,... Things to Do (6)

Roam through those narrow, Medieval, pleasantly cluttered streets. This is Mediterranean! more travel advice

Piazza Unita d'Italia is a... Things to Do (6)

Piazza Unita d'Italia is a huge central square which you can't miss even if you try. Note that Trieste was once a major... more travel advice

The backyard of the castle... Things to Do (6)

The backyard of the castle sports this great lapidarium (I'm not sure if this is a correct English expression, but I... more travel advice

Comments (47)

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Ben-UK Apr 4, 2004 at 7:45 AM

Good page with very nice photos - thanks.
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Tolik Feb 21, 2004 at 4:57 PM

Nice page, superb pictures!
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Maurizioago Jan 19, 2004 at 12:26 PM

I also love trieste. Ciao!
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Callavetta Oct 31, 2003 at 1:54 PM

I loved Trieste! I'm glad to hear somebody else was gasping after they got to the top of all those steps!
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Laurina Oct 30, 2003 at 2:39 PM

Interesting perspective on Trieste! thanks...
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iandsmith Sep 7, 2003 at 5:36 AM

If only you could drag yourself away from shopping more often we could get more colourful tips!
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pepples46 Sep 2, 2003 at 6:15 PM

I agree with you, it is worth calling Lapidarium and a good way to describe the castle's backyard. your great strenght to withstand the shopping spree, recommendable, helping soothing a Friends pain, priceless...Trieste is great
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lichinga Jun 1, 2003 at 5:53 AM

Lovely page and inspired introduction! Congratulations!
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Gisela2003 May 28, 2003 at 3:26 AM

There is no better place than Trieste / Triest . The town, the landscape, the beaches, the climate are unsurpassed.
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SURFIN7TH Apr 21, 2003 at 9:21 AM

I love it!