Post by Storyteller on Jan 3, 2016 19:23:52 GMT
The Free City of Trieste
Ancient History
Since the second millennium BC, the location was an inhabited site. Originally an Illyrian settlement, the Veneti entered the region in the 10th-9th c. BC and seem to have given the town its name, Tergeste, since terg* is a Venetic word meaning market. Still later, the town was later captured by the Carni, a tribe of the Eastern Alps, before becoming part of the Roman republic in 177 BC during the Istrian War. Between 52 and 46 BC, it was granted the status of Roman colony under Julius Caesar, who recorded its name as Tergeste in Commentarii de Bello Gallico (51 BC), his work which recounts events of the Gallic Wars.
In imperial times the border of Roman Italy moved from the Timavo river to Formione (today Risano (fiume). Roman Tergeste flourished due to its position on the road from Aquileia, the main Roman city in the area, to Istria, and as a port, some ruins of which are still visible. Emperor Augustus built a line of walls around the city in 33–32 BC, while Trajan built a theatre in the 2nd century. At the same time, the citizens of the town were enrolled in the tribe Pupinia. In 27 BC, Trieste was incorporated in Regio X of Augustan Italia.[11]
In the Early Christian era Trieste continued to flourish. Between AD 138 and 161, its territory was enlarged and nearby Carni and Catali were granted Roman citizenship by the Roman Senate and Emperor Antoninus Pius at the pleading of a leading Tergestine citizen, the quaestor urbanus, Fabius Severus.
Late Antiquity
The city was witness to the Battle of Bora on the Karst near Postumia in AD 397, in which Theodosius defeated Eugene. Despite the deposition of Romulus Augustulus at Ravenna in 476 and the ascension to power of Odoacer in Italy, Trieste was retained for a time by the Roman Emperor seated at Constantinople, and thus, became a Byzantine military outpost. In 539, the Byzantines annexed it to the Exarchate of Ravenna and despite Trieste's being briefly taken by the Lombards in 567 in the course of their invasion of northern Italy, held it until the time of the coming of the Franks.
Middle Ages
In 788, Trieste submitted to Charlemagne who placed it under the authority of their count-bishop who in turn was under the Duke of Friuli. From 1081 the city came loosely under the Patriarchate of Aquileia, developing into a free commune by the end of the 12th century.
Famous Sights
The Free Port of Trieste also known as The Porto Vecchio
The link between city and port, tied together within a single process of urban and historical development, becomes evident in the Porto Vecchio area, with an architectural heritage of great historical and artistic value. Porto Vecchio, located in the heart of the city, covers an area of about 600,000 sq.m. and represents a jewel of the Adriatic.
The "capannoni", the oldest buildings of the port, were erected after the model of the Lagerhäuser, a word which refers to those parts of a city that are used for goods handling and include warehouses for the storage and stocking of goods, from their arrival in port to their shipment and distribution.
Caves
In the entire Province of Trieste, there are 10 speleological groups out of 24 in the whole Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. The Trieste plateau (Altopiano Triestino), called Kras or the Carso and covering an area of about 200 square kilometres (77 sq mi) within Italy has approximately 1,500 caves of various sizes (like that of Basovizza, now a monument to the Foibe massacres).
Among the most famous are the Grotta Gigante, the largest tourist cave in the world, with a single cavity large enough to contain St Peter's in Rome, and the Cave of Trebiciano, 350 metres (1,150 ft) deep, at the bottom of which flows the Timavo River. This river dives underground at Škocjan Caves in Slovenia (they are on UNESCO list and only a few kilometres from Trieste) and flows about 30 kilometres (19 mi) before emerging about 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) from the sea in a series of springs near Duino, reputed by the Romans to be an entrance to Hades ("the world of the dead”).
Arch of Riccardo (33 BC)
It is a Roman gate built in the Roman walls in 33. It stands in Piazzetta Barbacan, in the narrow streets of the old town. It's called Arco di Riccardo ("Richard's Arch"), where Riccardo is a corruption of "Cardus", the Roman street which crossed it. Folk etimology created a local legend, which says that it was crossed by King Richard of England on the way back from the Crusades.
Basilica Forense (2nd century)
Palaeochristian basilica dedicated to the true cross
Roman Age Temples
One dedicated to Athena, one to Zeus, both on the S.Giusto hill.
The ruins of the temple dedicated to Zeus are next to the Forum, those of Athena's temple are under the basilica, visitors can see its basement.
Roman Theatre
The Roman theatre lies at the foot of the San Giusto hill, facing the sea. The construction partially exploits the gentle slope of the hill, and much of the theatre is made of stone. The topmost portion of the steps and the stage were supposedly made of wood.
Ancient History
Since the second millennium BC, the location was an inhabited site. Originally an Illyrian settlement, the Veneti entered the region in the 10th-9th c. BC and seem to have given the town its name, Tergeste, since terg* is a Venetic word meaning market. Still later, the town was later captured by the Carni, a tribe of the Eastern Alps, before becoming part of the Roman republic in 177 BC during the Istrian War. Between 52 and 46 BC, it was granted the status of Roman colony under Julius Caesar, who recorded its name as Tergeste in Commentarii de Bello Gallico (51 BC), his work which recounts events of the Gallic Wars.
In imperial times the border of Roman Italy moved from the Timavo river to Formione (today Risano (fiume). Roman Tergeste flourished due to its position on the road from Aquileia, the main Roman city in the area, to Istria, and as a port, some ruins of which are still visible. Emperor Augustus built a line of walls around the city in 33–32 BC, while Trajan built a theatre in the 2nd century. At the same time, the citizens of the town were enrolled in the tribe Pupinia. In 27 BC, Trieste was incorporated in Regio X of Augustan Italia.[11]
In the Early Christian era Trieste continued to flourish. Between AD 138 and 161, its territory was enlarged and nearby Carni and Catali were granted Roman citizenship by the Roman Senate and Emperor Antoninus Pius at the pleading of a leading Tergestine citizen, the quaestor urbanus, Fabius Severus.
Late Antiquity
The city was witness to the Battle of Bora on the Karst near Postumia in AD 397, in which Theodosius defeated Eugene. Despite the deposition of Romulus Augustulus at Ravenna in 476 and the ascension to power of Odoacer in Italy, Trieste was retained for a time by the Roman Emperor seated at Constantinople, and thus, became a Byzantine military outpost. In 539, the Byzantines annexed it to the Exarchate of Ravenna and despite Trieste's being briefly taken by the Lombards in 567 in the course of their invasion of northern Italy, held it until the time of the coming of the Franks.
Middle Ages
In 788, Trieste submitted to Charlemagne who placed it under the authority of their count-bishop who in turn was under the Duke of Friuli. From 1081 the city came loosely under the Patriarchate of Aquileia, developing into a free commune by the end of the 12th century.
Famous Sights
The Free Port of Trieste also known as The Porto Vecchio
The link between city and port, tied together within a single process of urban and historical development, becomes evident in the Porto Vecchio area, with an architectural heritage of great historical and artistic value. Porto Vecchio, located in the heart of the city, covers an area of about 600,000 sq.m. and represents a jewel of the Adriatic.
The "capannoni", the oldest buildings of the port, were erected after the model of the Lagerhäuser, a word which refers to those parts of a city that are used for goods handling and include warehouses for the storage and stocking of goods, from their arrival in port to their shipment and distribution.
Caves
In the entire Province of Trieste, there are 10 speleological groups out of 24 in the whole Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. The Trieste plateau (Altopiano Triestino), called Kras or the Carso and covering an area of about 200 square kilometres (77 sq mi) within Italy has approximately 1,500 caves of various sizes (like that of Basovizza, now a monument to the Foibe massacres).
Among the most famous are the Grotta Gigante, the largest tourist cave in the world, with a single cavity large enough to contain St Peter's in Rome, and the Cave of Trebiciano, 350 metres (1,150 ft) deep, at the bottom of which flows the Timavo River. This river dives underground at Škocjan Caves in Slovenia (they are on UNESCO list and only a few kilometres from Trieste) and flows about 30 kilometres (19 mi) before emerging about 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) from the sea in a series of springs near Duino, reputed by the Romans to be an entrance to Hades ("the world of the dead”).
Arch of Riccardo (33 BC)
It is a Roman gate built in the Roman walls in 33. It stands in Piazzetta Barbacan, in the narrow streets of the old town. It's called Arco di Riccardo ("Richard's Arch"), where Riccardo is a corruption of "Cardus", the Roman street which crossed it. Folk etimology created a local legend, which says that it was crossed by King Richard of England on the way back from the Crusades.
Basilica Forense (2nd century)
Palaeochristian basilica dedicated to the true cross
Roman Age Temples
One dedicated to Athena, one to Zeus, both on the S.Giusto hill.
The ruins of the temple dedicated to Zeus are next to the Forum, those of Athena's temple are under the basilica, visitors can see its basement.
Roman Theatre
The Roman theatre lies at the foot of the San Giusto hill, facing the sea. The construction partially exploits the gentle slope of the hill, and much of the theatre is made of stone. The topmost portion of the steps and the stage were supposedly made of wood.