Trieste

Sister cities

• Graz

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, because terg* is a Venetic word meaning market (q.v. Oderzo, whose ancient name was Opitergium). Later, the town was captured by the Carni, a tribe of the Eastern Alps, before becoming part of the Roman Republic in 177 BC during the Second Istrian War. After being attacked by barbarians from the interior in 52 BC, and until 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), in which he recounts events of the Gallic Wars. 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. In the early Christian era Trieste continued to flourish. Between 138 and 161 AD, 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. Already at the time of the Roman Empire there was a fishing village called Vallicula ("small valley") in the Barcola area. Remains of richly decorated Roman villas, including wellness facilities, piers and extensive gardens suggest that Barcola was already a place for relaxation among the Romans because of its favourable…

Geography

Trieste is located in the northernmost part of the high Adriatic, in northeastern Italy, near the border with Slovenia. The city lies on the Gulf of Trieste. Built mostly on a hillside, Trieste's urban territory lies at the foot of an imposing escarpment that comes down abruptly from the Karst Plateau towards the sea. The karst hills delimiting the city reach an elevation of above sea level. It lies at the junction point of the Italian geographical region, the Balkan Peninsula, and Mitteleuropan Area. Trieste's climate is humid subtropical (Köppen: Cfa, Trewartha: Cf), with cool winters and hot summers. On average, relative humidity is low (~ 65%), while only three months (January, March and July) receive slightly less than of precipitation. Trieste, like the Istrian Peninsula, has evenly distributed rainfall above in total; it is noteworthy that no true summer drought occurs. Snow occurs on average 2 days per year. Winter highs are lower than the average temperatures in the Mediterranean zone. Two basic weather patterns alternate — sunny, windy and often cold days frequently cause a northeastern wind called bora, and rainy days with temperatures of about . Summer is very warm with highs of about and lows above , with hot nights being influenced by the warm seawater. The highest temperature of the last 30 years is in 2020, whereas the absolute minimum was in 1996. The Trieste area is divided into 8a–10a zones according to USDA hardiness zoning; Villa Opicina (320 to 420 MSL), with an 8a zone in the upper suburban area down to a 10a zone in the shielded and windproof valleys close to the Adriatic sea. The climate can be severely affected by the bora, a very dry and usually cool north-to-northeast katabatic wind that can last for some days and reach speeds of…

Most-observed species

• Yellow-legged Gull

  Larus michahellis J.F.Naumann, 1840 · Aves
  4,825
• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,708
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  2,629
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,431
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,974
• Black-headed Gull

  Chroicocephalus ridibundus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,662
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,586
• Little Egret/Western Reef-Heron

  Egretta garzetta (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,578

Most recent

• M 3.9 — 2023-07-29
  8 km ENE of Klana, Croatia
• M 4 — 2020-07-17
  5 km SSE of Bovec, Slovenia
• M 3.5 — 2020-05-13
  3 km NE of Crikvenica, Croatia
• M 4.2 — 2018-08-11
  0 km NW of Gemona, Italy
• M 4 — 2017-08-08
  3 km SSW of Jadranovo, Croatia
• M 4 — 2015-08-29
  4 km E of Kobarid, Slovenia