PAGE TWO
Sorrento and the Bay of Naples - Roy and Sarah - 2002
Text and pictures coming soon.
Trieste, Venice and Muggia - Andrew and Jacqui and their Mums - 2005
Andrew, Jacqui and their Mums headed for Italy in 2005 to coincide with Jacqui’s Mum’s birthday.
The Main Square in Trieste (with the Castle on the hill behind)
We were pretty open about where to aim for and a deal came up to visit Trieste at the very northern end of the Adriatic. Had I been more aware at the time, I would certainly have tried to schedule in a side trip to Slovenia which, five years later, is still one of the holes in my European itinerary!
The Roman Amphitheatre in Trieste
The drive from Trieste Airport to Trieste is considerable … you actually feel like you might have been quicker just going to Venice. But eventually the taxi headed down the precipitous road into Trieste city centre.
The Amphitheatre in Trieste from above
Right next door to our hotel is the small amphitheatre which is one of the chief ancient remains in Trieste. Sadly, during our visit the amphitheatre was not open, although you could get a pretty good idea of what it could offer from outside the fencing to be honest and particularly from the pathway behind it that I clambered up.
The Main Square at Night, Trieste
On the first day we didn’t explore much beyond the main square of Trieste, the admittedly quite impressive Piazza d’Unita. It looks particularly good at night when lit from below with a myriad of little blue lights.
Trieste Castle
A bit later in the holiday I went exploring on my own, climbing up the hill over Trieste centre where the castle and cathedral stand. There are a few Roman remains up here as well, but the main attraction is the cathedral. The castle, whilst solid looking and definitely medieval, was not open to the public.
Another view of Trieste Castle
Trieste Castle and War Memorial
War Memorial, Trieste
The cathedral, whilst plain on the outside, is very old and has some notable features inside.
Trieste Cathedral
San Antonio Nuovo, Trieste
From here I headed back down across town to the Grand Canal – really not a canal as such but a long square inlet of water around which cluster three of Trieste’s grandest churches; San Spiridone, San Nicolò dei Greci and at the head of the Canal, San Antonio Nuovo. Despite being Trieste’s grandest street it had nothing on other canals we were about to see and soon both the Grand Canal of Trieste and the rest of the City would become poor relations to one of Italy’s greatest attractions – the astonishingly lovely city of Venice.
San Spiridione, Trieste
The Grand Canal, Trieste
San Nicolo dei Greci, Trieste
Chowing down in Venice
Our train journey to Venice was not without incident. Not having used the Italian railways before, we failed to validate our tickets by getting them stamped by the little machine at the station. The guard admonished us about this and demanded more money from us as a fine. Jacqui’s Mum then sprang into action and harangued the man loudly about treating us, as visitors to his country, in such a poor way. Suitably cowed he got off at the next station, validated our tickets for us and returned both them and fine before slinking off and never bothering us again!
San Giacomo dell’Orio, Venice
A Venetian "Back Street"
Arriving in Venice by train is a slightly surreal experience, firstly you cross over on the 1846 rail bridge from the mainland part of Venice (i.e. the bit no one ever goes to). Then you arrive at the station and pour out of the front onto a small piazza and are immediately confronted by the Grand Canal – that most famous of all Venice’s waterways, although you don’t quite realise what you are looking at until you study a map of the place.
Andrew and his Mum in Venice
Jacqui and her Mum in Venice
Crossing the little footbridge of the Ponte de Scalzi you head into the Venice that you had imagined. A maze of tiny walkways, bridges, canals and intricate little turnings which suddenly open out onto squares with churches towering above them. We stopped for lunch somewhere in amongst the maze of streets between the Station at the church of San Giacomo dell’Orio and had a particularly fine pasta meal al fresco. This being Jacqui’s Mum’s Birthday it was a fitting meal and the best we had during this visit to Italy.
The Rialto Bridge, Venice
We then pressed on to the first of the great landmarks – the Rialto Bridge. This fine arch of stone was first constructed between 1588 and 1591. For many centuries it was the only way to cross the Grand Canal (without using some form of water transport). Today it is a focal point for all visitors to Venice offering some of the very best views of the very grandest of all the Canal-side Palaces which typify the city. These are the views which you think of when you think of Venice.
All of us on the Rialto Bridge, Venice
Here you find the great curving sweep of the Grand Canal lined with flat fronted, slightly peeling huge houses of the rich of centuries past. The irony is that today the properties are so very expensive to keep (both in normal terms and in that special “not sinking in the mud” way particular to Venice) that many of the palaces not occupied by Museums or offices are now not lived in.
The Grand Canal, Venice
Another view of the Grand Canal, Venice
From the Rialto we took a water taxi along the Grand Canal, passing the great Dome of the church of Santa Maria della Salute before coming to rest on the edge of St. Mark’s Square.
Entrance to St. Mark's Square, Venice
The Doge's Palace, Venice
Almost everything is familiar about St. Mark’s Square and its surrounds – the twin lion statues atop their pillars, the Doge’s Palace with its colourful exterior and the multitude of pigeons in the Square itself.
Doge's Palace and St. Mark's, Venice
Approaching St. Mark's Square, Venice
Wonderful view of St. Mark's, Venice
Then you turn into the main square and are met by the unique view of St. Mark’s Cathedral with its domes, arches and elaborate carvings. Presiding over all of this is the graceful shape of the Campanile, an iconic building that has been copied innumerable times over the centuries.
St. Mark's, Venezia
St. Mark's and the Campanile, Venice
The buildings on this Square represent some 500 years of history – the eldest - St Mark's - dates to 1063, the newest buildings dating to around 1556. Each has its own character, but you find you eye drawn repeatedly to St. Mark’s itself – by no means the largest, tallest or most important church in the world but one which seems to present something different every time you look at it.
Close up of the Campanile, Venice
St. Mark's Cathedral, Venice
Without any need to exaggerate St. Mark’s Square – and Venice in general – is one of those places in the world which deserves every bit of its reputation and is definitely a place you should try to see at some time in your life.
Detail of St. Mark's facade, Venice
A final view of St. Mark's Square, Venice
After all this you would think that Venice was done – but there were still a few icons left to see. Next to the Doge’s Palace, for instance, the tiny but infamous Bridge of Sighs crosses a small canal. Allegedly so named because it afforded those crossing it with their final view of Venice this structure has been copied all over the world (three instances I can think of immediately are in Cambridge, Oxford and Dublin).
The Infamous Bridge of Sighs, Venice
From the landing platform of St. Marks a great view can be had across the beginnings of the Venetian lagoon to San Giorgio Maggiore over on its own little island and Santa Maria della Salute where the Grand Canal opens up into the Canal San Marco.
Santa Maria della Salute, Venice
Then, at last, I got to see (and just managed to photograph) the most iconic view I captured of Venice – a gondolier rowing his unwieldy craft away from the mooring poles with Santa Maria della Salute silhouetted behind.
San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice
Gondola Stop, Venice
It couldn't be anywhere but Venice!
We decided to take the water taxi all the way back to the Station and headed back to Trieste having spent a very happy day in a City I would dearly like to see more of.
Iconic Image of Venice
On the boat from Trieste to Muggia
On the last day of our Italy trip we were going to spend some more time in Trieste. However, we had found nothing much else to do and the people at the tourist information and elsewhere had seemed unfriendly and certainly disinterested in assisting us.
Muggia harbour and Castle
So we happened upon a ferry across the bay from Trieste to Muggia, a tiny little town which (retrospect informs me) is on the only bit of Istria still in Italy and is a matter of a mile or so from the Slovenian town of Koper – so near and yet so far!
Muggia Castle
Although only minute, Muggia still managed to have a castle and a cathedral, although neither are what you might call top examples of their kind.
Mums and Jacqui in Muggia
Muggia Cathedral
Main Square, Muggia
The port area offered some quite attractive views of the Castle above the harbour with small yachts and fishing boats moored below it.
Inquisitive cat in Muggia
Away from the harbour there isn’t much of Muggia beyond the main square with the Cathedral as its centrepiece.
Detail of Muggia Moggy
Muggia Moggy in context
We had a bit of a wander around, sat about a bit, saw a inquisitive cat watching us from a window and walked up the steps to the Castle but all in all Muggia could only hope to keep our interest for a brief period of time. We went off to find some food, but the best we could come up with was a seafood restaurant where Jacqui and her Mum ordered prawns and were presented with three massive prawns complete with their shells, legs and all and were basically left to get on with it. Here too Andrew was told how to eat spaghetti by a helpful but misguided waitress.
Jacqui and Andrew's Mum in Muggia
Andrew and his Mum in Muggia
The side of Muggia Castle
Muggia was quite nice but after Venice was little more than a way of killing time. The journey back to Trieste was blustery and wind-swept.
Returning to Trieste
© Text copyright - Raving Loony
Productions, Andrew J. and Jacqui Müller, Shaun and Alison Runham, Roy Barton
© Photos and Artwork - Shaun and Alison Runham, Andrew J. and Jacqui Müller, Roy Barton
© Web Design and Layout - Andrew J. Müller
2026
