If you wondered where the cruse ships went after they were banned from overwhelming Venice’s waterfront and lagoon, you’re looking at part of the answer: Trieste.
The Italian port, practically an enclave on the coast of Slovenia, has a long and colorful history and a fairly drab history as a tourism destination other than for people who plan their travel based on espionage novels.
Once Austria-Hungary’s only seaport on the Mediterranean, it was Italian until the end of World War II, then occupied by Yugoslavia, and then run by the UK and U.S. until it returned to Italy in 1954. It has canals, it has waterfront, it has elegant and historic buildings, but until recently little outside interest.
But with the development of extensive tourism in its neighbor, Slovenia, and with Venice’s ban on cruise ships sending them to new moorings, Trieste is seeing a big rise in visitors.
