Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Trieste
TRIESTE (Germ. Triest, Slav. Trst, Lat. Tergeste), the principal seaport of the Austrian -Hungarian empire, is picturesquely situated at the north-east angle of the Adriatic Sea, in the Gulf of Trieste and at the foot of the barren Karst Hills. The old town, nestling round the hill on which the castle stands, consists of narrow, steep, and irregular streets. It is connected by the broad and hand some Corso with the well-built new town, which lies on the flat expanse adjoining the crescent-shaped bay, partly on ground that has been reclaimed from the sea. The prevailing air of the town is Italian rather than German. The castle, built in 1680, is believed to occupy the site of the Roman capitol (see below). Near it is the cathedral of S. Giusto, an unimposing but interesting building, mainly of the 14th century, and incorporating fragment* of a Roman temple and early Christian churches. Don Carlos of Spain (d. 1855) is interred in the south aisle, and Fouche, Napoleon's minister of police, in front of the church, while the churchyard contains the grave and monument of Winckelmann, the archaeologist, who was murdered at Trieste in 1768. The Arco di Riccardo, also in the old town, derives its name from a popular delusion that it was connected with Richard Coeur-de-Lion, but is probably an arch of a Roman aqueduct. A collection of Roman antiquities found in or near the town has been formed near the castle. The most prominent building in the new town is the Tergesteo, a huge edifice containing the exchange and numerous shops and offices. The new municipal buildings, with the handsome hall of the pro vincial diet, the Palazzo Revoltella, the offices of the Austrian Lloyd's, and the handsome old exchange arc also noteworthy.
Plan of Trieste.
The church of S. Maria Maggiore is a characteristic specimen of Jesuit architecture, and the new Greek church is one of the handsomest Byzantine structures in the empire. The city hospital has accom modation for 2000 patients. The huge Politeama is the largest theatre. In front of the Palazzo Revoltella is a monument to the emperor Maximilian of Mexico, who had been an admiral in the Austrian service. His sumptuous chateau of Miramar is one of the lions of the neighbour hood. The capacious harbour, consisting of two parts, the old and the new, is protected by extensive moles and breakwaters, and has been greatly improved within the last ten or fifteen years. From the harbour the Canal Grande extends into the town, allowing large vessels to unload at the warehouses. At the end of the Molo Sta Teresa is a lighthouse upwards of 100 feet high. The population of the town (6424 in 1758) and district of Trieste in 1880 was 144,844, of whom 74,544 belonged to the town proper and 133,019 to the town and suburbs. The town population is very heterogeneous, but the Italian element far exceeds all the rest. There are about Germans and also numerous Greeks, English, and French. The population includes 26,000 Slavs, most of whom live in the country districts and are engaged in agriculture.
Trieste has been a free imperial port since 1719. It may be said to nearly monopolize the trade of the Adriatic, and has long eclipsed its ancient rival Venice. The annual value of its exports and imports is about 30 millions sterling. Among the chief imports are coffee, wine, fruit, grain, tobacco, petroleum, cotton, coals, and manufactured goods of various kinds; the exports include spirits, liqueurs, sugar, meal, timber, glass, and machinery. Large quantities of fish are sent to Vienna. In 1885 the port was entered by 6971 vessels with an aggregate burden of 1,267,946 tons. The trading fleet of Trieste numbers about 500 ships of 100,000 tons burden. The chief shipping company is the Austrian Lloyd's, founded in 1836, the steamers of which ply to the Mediterranean ports, Alexandria, Constantinople, the Black Sea, &c. The extensive wharfs and dockyards of the company lie to the south of the town. The chief branches of industry practised at Trieste are shipbuilding, soap-boiling, machine-making (especially marine engines), tanning, brewing, rope-making, and the manufacture of liqueurs (rosoglio). Trieste is the seat of government for the so-called Küstenland or Coast district, and is the seat of naval and military commanders and other officials. The town council, pre sided over by the podestà, is also the diet of the crownland of Trieste (35 square miles). Trieste is the seat of the bishop of Capo d'Istria.
History.—At the time of the foundation of Aquileia by the Romans, the district which now includes Trieste was occupied by Celtic and Illyrian tribes; and the Roman colony of Tergeste does not seem to have been established till the reign of Vespasian. After the break-up of the Roman dominion Trieste shared the general fortunes of Istria and passed through various hands. From the emperor Lothaire it received an independent existence under its countbishops, and it maintained this position down to its capture by Venice in 1203. For the next 180 years its history consists chiefly of a series of conflicts with this city, which were finally put an end to by Trieste placing itself in 1382 under the protection of Leopold III. of Austria. The overlordship thus established insensibly developed into actual possession; and except in the Napoleonic period (1797-1805 and 1809-1813) Trieste has since remained an integral part of the Austrian dominions.