Trieste
Trieste lies on the north-eastern edge of the Adriatic Sea it face northwest across fro the Iberian peninsula which on a good day allows a view of the snow capped distant Dolomites mountain range.
The Trieste we see today began life as a sleepy coastal fishing village in the 14th Century, though its roots are in the Roman Empire. The village it allied itself with the Habsburg dynasty which was then building an empire across Europe. In 1719 Trieste was given the status of Freeport and it expansion began. A small canal was a created and large piazza and streets with villas for prosperous merchants were built according to a grid plan. Deep-water quays were built reaching out into the harbour. The railway arrived in 1850 and this marked a rapid expansion of the city becoming the main transit point for goods arriving from all over the Mediterranean Sea destined for central Europe.
The city drew in a cosmopolitan mix of peoples from Germany the Balkans and the Mediterranean each leaving their mark on the architecture and the local dialect “Trestino”.
The city today is a thriving vibrant working port with beautiful city centre and it is surrounded by mountains.
It was nice sunny weather for our stay in Trieste although the wind from the sea made the recordings sometimes rather challenging. I went for a walk in the harbour trying to capture the sound of the rigging of the yachts. I had to find shelter from the wind for my microphones within the port’s buildings, sometimes being stared by puzzled shipyard workers. Trieste is a busy city; the sound of traffic in Italy is so different to northern part of Europe . High revving scooters the hum of the car’s engines punctuated by frequent short tempered beeping of horns, make a very satisfying sound recordings.
We visited the castle built on the hill in the centre of the city and the Romanesque Cathedral di San Giusto with a bell tower with historic bells that are now to fragile to be used .
I sat and recorded an hour ambience between 6-7 pm on the Piazza Unita d’Itallia with a chimes of town hall’s clock and the reverb announcements at the train station. I have tried to visit local Revoltella Museum – Gallery of Contemporary Art but it was closed on Tuesday, well what an excuse to sit with a nice glass of vino bianco and watch the world go by…
