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Trieste: San Giusto and the Capitoline Hill
Over a Roman propylaeum, which may have been the entrance to
a memorial monument called 'Tempio Capitolino', a pyramid was found. With the
symbols of the capitoline triad (Jupiter, Juno and Minerva) and a part of it was
kept to build a large cultural room in the 6th century.
Today this room consists
only of a mosaic on the floor which shows the limits of the paleochristian and
was destroyed a few years after it was opened for worship by the lombard
invaders.
Between the 9th and the 11th century, two basilicas were built over these ruins. The
first was dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption and the second to Saint Giusto.
The latter had originally a central plan but was eventually made longer. In the
14th century the basilicas were joined together destroying the side-aisles to
create one large aisle.
A simple façade was built asymmetrically with an elegant
Gothic rose window dominating the structure.
The façade and the bell tower were
decorated using local Roman stones.
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Inside the basilica many things are worth seeing such as
mosaics on the apse of the Lady of the Assumption and San Giusto by artists from
Veneto dated XII-XIII century.
The little church of Saint John (old baptistery), dated 3rd century, is on the
left. On the right, near the entrance to the museum, is Saint Michael of Carnale.
These two churches complete the medieval impression of the yard.
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On the square can be found the altar to remember the
consecration and dismissal of weapons of the third Army. The column with the
halberd and the memorial to the fallen soldiers of WWI.
During the 1930's some
remains were found from the Roman Forum with its civil basilica. The basilica
had been constructed with two floors with columns and two apses. After restoration the Castle
of San Giusto was emphasized more. It has a long history because
it was built on the remains of previous castles. Its construction took almost
two centuries. Inside the castle one can find the central part, ordered by
Federico III (1470-71), the round bastion (Venetian style 1508-1509), the Hoyos-lalio bastion (1553-61), the Pomis or floral bastion (1630).
All these
structures represent the evolution in the centuries of defense buildings.
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San Giusto - Photo (c)
Blue_Valentine
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Today
the castle has many rooms open to the public, such as the Caprin chamber. In the
castle of San Giusto there is a civic museum with old weapons and it is also a place where
exhibits and open air shows are held. Walking along the terraces of the castle
one can see a lovely view of the city, the sea and the hills. The Parco della
Rimembranza (Rememberance Park) was built to honor the memory of those who died
in WWI. One can not miss a visit to this simple natural oasis of peace. From the square of the Cathedral one can enter through the iron gate to the Orto
Lapidario (garden). It was built in 1834 by Domenico Rossetti over the previous
cemetery of San Giusto which was moved to another location at the end of the
18th century. Here are preserved Roman and Medieval ruins found in Trieste and
the rest of the region. The Cenotafio (cenotaph) is dedicated to the
archeologist Giovanni Winckelmann, father of Neoclassicism, who died in Trieste
in 1769.
Text courtesy of
Trieste Official Tourist Board
(c) 1997-2008 E. Massetti
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