Articles

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Regency of Carnaro, on September 12th, 2019 a bronze statue of Gabriele D’Annunzio sitting on a bench was inaugurated near the Neptune fountain on Piazza della Borsa in Trieste. Setting from Ronchi (hence the name of the village “Ronchi dei Legionari”, that is of the Legionnaires), the poet rallied a number of diehards and regular soldiers to march towards the city of Fiume (today’s Rijeka in Croatia), whose possession had been claimed by the Italian delegation at the negotiations of the Treaty of Paris. After reaching the city, D’Annunzio declared its annexation to the Kingdom of Italy, despite the opposition of the Italian government. The Treaty of Rapallo signed the following year (November 12th, 1920) eventually declared Rijeka a free town and D’Annunzio was forced to leave. The poet had been in Trieste also before, in 1902, when he stayed for three weeks at the Hotel de la Ville with the famous actress Eleonora Duse during their stormy relationship. As you are on Piazza della Borsa, one of the main squares in Trieste, take advantage of a look around to appreciate the diverse architectural styles of the buildings facing the square, which are a distinguishing feature of this area built from the mid-18th century onward. The majestic Neoclassical Borsa Vecchia (the former seat of the Stock Exchange and today’s Chamber of Trade) faces Casa Bartoli (1905), an admirable example of Jugendstil designed by architect Max Fabiani. Few steps away (n. 8) Casa Prandi is a Neoclassical building with a large opening called Portizza, which links the square to the old Jewish ghetto. Casa Romano (on the corner of via Roma) was designed by an unknown architect from Lombardy for a tailor from Vienna in 1870: it is an example of Rococo style, restyled with the addition of a central loggia in 1919-1920. It is told that the face of the tailor who had the house built to accommodate his atelier is sculpted on the head on the keystone of the main gate. The square is watched by the back of Palazzo Tergesteo, an imposing edifice that served as both a residence and a commercial area, built in two years only and completed in 1842. Cross the palace through its inner gallery to reach Piazza Verdi, a square bearing its name from the Teatro Verdi, the opera house, a beautiful example of Neoclassical style and reminiscent of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. In fact, the architect who designed this edifice, Matteo Pertsch, had studied with Giuseppe Piermarini in the Academy of Brera in Milan. Inaugurated in 1801, the opera house was renamed in 1901 after Italian musician Giuseppe Verdi, who had composed Stiffelio for this theatre in 1850.