Austrian Italy (or Italian Austria)

'You won't like it', told me a collegue from work. 'It's a pity that the first city you will see in Italy is Trieste, there's nothing to see', told me another. But I was very happy to go to Italy, even if it was not to one of the famous cities, even if it was a trip for work, and I wanted to enjoy it. And I was not disappointed. 

Trieste is next to the sea, and it is very probable that I like a city which is next to the sea. And I liked it. It was beginning of April and the weather was good, the city was quiet and there were no tourists. Actually, since it is not a tourist site, nobody spoke English. But it was not a problem, people were nice and with only a few Italian words we could understand each other. 

The first thing that draw my attention were the buildings. At the time I had not yet been in Austria, but those buildings made me think about Sissi films. It is normal: Trieste was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and integrated Italy at the end of the first world war. 

In addition to palaces, in Trieste there is much more. 

There are roman ruins

and tramways who seem to come from another time. 

Canals, 

fountains

and interesting people (in the picture, a statue representing James Joyce, who lived in Trieste for several years)

A few kilometers to the north there is a castle, called Castello di Miramare

with lots of boats around,

seagulls, 

hidden beaches, 

and of course, the sea!

What I liked the most were sunsets. I come from a city which lies next to the sea, but where the sunrise is over the sea, and sunset behind the mountains. So I am not used to sea sunsets, and they always amaze me, and I love it.