Arco di Riccardo

Trieste boasts an extensive old town: there are many very narrow and crooked streets with typical medieval houses. Nearly the entire area is closed to traffic.

Contains Roman and Medieval relics, and a cenotaph to the archaeologist Johann Winckelmann, father of neoclassicism, who died in Trieste in 1769.

Tergeste, which probably dates back to the prehistoric period, was enclosed by walls built in 33-32 BC on Emperor Octavius’s orders. The city developed greatly during the 1st and 2nd century AD. The Roman Theatre faces the sea. The construction partially exploits the gentle slope of the hill, and most of the construction work is in stone. The topmost portion of the amphitheatre steps and the stage were presumably made of wood. The statues that adorned the theatre (which was brought to light in the 1930s) are now preserved at the Town Museum. Three inscriptions from the Trajan period mention a certain Q. Petronius Modestus, a person who was closely connected with the development of the theatre, which was erected during the second half of the 1st century.

Half of the city was built under Austrian-Hungarian dominion, so there are a lot of palaces that resemble Vienna. An iconic place of this quarter is the majestic Piazza Unità (Unity Square), which is Europe's largest sea-front square. The most present architecture styles are Neoclassical, Art Nouveau, Eclectic, and Baroque.

The heart of the ancient city of Tergeste. Although only fragmentary remains of the Roman Forum survive—mainly paving, columns, and foundations—the site marks the civic and religious core of Tergeste.

Archaeological, historical and art collections. Prehistoric and protohuman findings of local origin; Roman and medieval sculptures and epigraphs. Egyptian, Greek, Roman and pre-Roman antiques. Numismatic collection. Photograph and book libraries.