Saturday, 14 November 2009
Trieste
After my visit to western Ireland the next stop in my November travels was the Italian town of Trieste, on the Adriatic coast, right up in the north-east corner of Italy. Trieste enjoyed a visit from a notable Irishman, James Joyce lived here for a spell before WW I.
It’s a city with a long and convoluted history. The town features one of the finest town squares in Italy, the Piazza dell’Unita d’Italia, crowded in on three sides by impressive buildings and lots of elegant statuary.
Statue on Piazza Dell'Unita d'Italia
There are plenty of churches, museums, bits of Roman ruins and a solid old castle to distract you. The imposing Serbian Orthodox Chiesa di Santo Spiridione has colourful mosaics. I was passing through Trieste on my way to a literary festival in the town of Udine. 
Chiesa di Santo Spiridione
Once while Travelling: The Lonely Planet Story
