HISTORICAL COFFEE

Walking through the city streets it is easy to meet several historic cafés, linked above all to the literary tradition of Trieste: in these rooms enveloped in a fascinating Mitteleuropean atmosphere it is not difficult to imagine Stendhal, Joyce, Svevo or Saba sipping their favorite drink. Trieste's historic cafés have become real tourist destinations, the main ones are:

Caffé Tommaseo

The oldest café in Trieste, named after the Dalmatian writer Niccolò Tommaseo. Decorated by Giuseppe Gatteri, it offers a sophisticated and elegant venue in Viennese style. Famous for having first introduced ice cream in Trieste.

Caffè San Marco

Opened in 1914, it was destroyed by the Austrians during the war. In the 1920s it was rebuilt and immediately became a meeting place for intellectuals and writers from Trieste such as Saba and Svevo. Also this re-proposes the inevitable Viennese atmosphere with an inlaid wooden counter, the bare paintings on the medallions on the walls, marble tables, mirrors and the original frescoes.

Caffè degli Specchi

Born in 1839 by Nicolò Privolo, it is located on the ground floor of Palazzo Stratti, in Piazza Unità; it immediately became a place of reference to follow all the historical, political, economic and cultural events of the city and has always represented the "Salotto Triestino" par excellence.

Caffè Stella Polare

Located in the heart of the Borgo Teresiano, it was born as a typical Austro-Hungarian restaurant, with the classic decorations of stuccos and mirrors; it was for years a meeting place for intellectuals from Trieste and abroad but with the end of the Second World War and the arrival of the Anglo-Americans in the city became a famous ballroom. Today only the splendid historic café remains.