Trieste, Italy–Sep. 17, 2025

The weather was excellent, so I had a lot of photo opportunities. Trieste also has a Grand Canal:

The Trieste grand canal. A domed building is in the background. Sunlight reflects off the water.

The grand canal in Trieste; boats are at the side of the canal.

And now, a variety of photos on the way to and near the Piazza de l'Unita Italiana:

Carved cherubs above an arch over a window

Green wooden doors. On each door is a diamond with a lion’s head reliefwork

Artistic-looking pipes screwed together in a scaffold.

This scaffolding looked interesting.

Round stone piece on a wall with a relief-work woman’s head

Stone carving of a woman in robes holding a large cross.

Carving of a man, reclining. Near him is an array of tools.

Carving of a reclining woman. Near her are bundles of goods.

Clock tower. One of the clocks has the hands missing.

One of the harbors in Trieste.

Harbor in foreground. In background, hills with houses on them.

Bronze sculpture of two seated women, facing away from each other. A newspaper (part of the sculpture) is near them.

Bronze sculpture of a soldier carrying a flag

Upper floors of a palace. At the bottom of the photo are EU, Italy, and Trieste flags.

Statue of woman with a child. A lion’s head is carved on the base of the sculpture.

Intricate reliefwork of various plants. In center, a bearded man with fruits and vegetables in his hair

Statue/fountain which looks like a large pile of stacked rocks

Statue of bearded man in cloak, gesturing downwards

I then headed for the Castle of San Giusto (Saint Justus of Trieste):

Narrow curving street; walls are painted yellow.

Arch over lintel; sculpted head of man above arch

Old Roman arch attached to a modern house.

Portion of a first-century stone arch. The upper part is attached to a modern building.

Balconies on two upper stories of a building; both have planter boxes with flowers in them.

Sign showing directions and number of steps to tourist attractions

Instead of distances, the signs show the number of steps.

Monument showing people in battle. One is holding a shield.

And this is the top of the hill where the castle is.

View of Trieste from San Giusto on top of a hill

Brick cylinder with the top of a roman column on top of the cylinder

Brick cylinder with top of roman column on top of cylinder. Behind it are two brick columns.

Fluted brick column with a stone column top.

Statues of two bearded men holding staffs with hammer heads; they are used to strike a large bell in the foreground

Four coats-of-arms attached to a brick wall.

Thirteen heraldic shields arrayed in a circle

Interior courtyard

There’s a museum of stonework on the castle grounds. I asked the person at the door if it was OK to take pictures. She said yes. I said, “Without flash, right?” and she said, “Why? It’s made of stone. The light won’t ruin it.”

Mosaic of concentric circles composed of alternating black and white triangular arcs

Segments of mosaic floors with geometric designs on them

Room with multiple statues, most of which are headless

Part of a wall with Latin inscription on it

Pyramidal stone with sea creature in relief on side. To its left, a gravestone-shaped stone with a Latin inscription.

View of a lower level with more tile fragments and a statue

Multicolored rectangular stones of various sizes filling a square frame

Badly weathered bust of a man carved into a hemispherical opening.

Bust of a Roman high official. The official has male pattern baldness.

And more from the castle.

Building with rectangles painted between windows to look like window frames with floral designs, a circular center, and blue background

Saw this building from atop the castle.

Stone coat of arms with a chunk missing in the center left.

View of buildings on Trieste hills as seen from top of San Giusto

View of old brick buildings with slate roof tiles

View of Trieste buildings on hills as seen through an opening in the battlements

View of Trieste through an opening in the battlements

View of Trieste harbor in far background

Christ on cross; cross is barely visible.

The fish was this big...

There’s an armory in the castle. It’s not as big as the one in Graz (which is basically one gigantic stack of weapons and armor after another) but, this one is well curated.

Array of swords on wall; they are facing at various angles

Display of rifles and short guns attached to wall

Display with swords on one wall, blunderbusses on other wall

Sword with a blade that has “waves” on the edges. It is called a “flame blade”

Wooden statue of man in armor holding a spear

More of the castle interior:

Bust of man with beard and ecclesiastical hat

Interior of a fireplace lined with ceramic tiles that have geometric design on them

Top of a plinth. It is a football-shaped stone with a ribbed design, looking much like a melon

Il Melone (The Melon), a symbol of Trieste.

And more photos...

Ochre-painted wall with shards of stone attached

Multi-story building with ornate decorative sculpture and a round window on the first floor above ground

Closeup showing scrollwork on underside of balcony

Statue of man with walking stick. He is wearing a long coat and an English driving cap

Statue of man wearing crown. He has a short sword in one hand and a cross-topped orb in the other

Emperor Leopold I of Habsburg arrived in 1660 on a visite to Trieste. To pay homage to him a gilded wooden statue was erected in Piazza Pozzo del Mare. The statue was then re-cast in bronze in 1673 and moved to Piazza della Borsa in 1808

Bronze statue of a bald man seated, reading a book. There is a stack of several books next to him.

Gabriele D'Annunzio, Italian author

Relief carving of man’s head. Man has beard, pointed ears, and a grim expression

Mosaic of Madonna and Child on an Orthodox cathedral. Text is in old church Slavonic

The text is in Old Church Slavonic on San Spiridione, a Serbian Orthodox church.

Archbishop Antonio Santin