by InTrieste
Any Trieste city dweller will tell you that coffee is a serious thing out here, hence we weren’t surprised when the nation’s deputy agriculture minister announced Italy’s intention to have Italian espresso coffee inserted on the UNESCO list of “intangible cultural heritage” last year. Although it didn’t go as planned, Trieste decided to try try try again.
“In Italy coffee is much more than a simple drink” – deputy agriculture minister Centinaio said – “It is a genuine ritual, an integral part of our national identity and an expression of our sociality that distinguishes us in the world.”
We asked locals what they thought about the already much cherished cup of espresso (or nero as Trieste folks would put it) becoming an official cultural heritage.
The cup of espresso represents “a social and cultural ritual for all Triestini”, said Roberta Erario, the owner of a celebrated coffee shop Bar Neri in San Vito neighborhood of Trieste. “Coffee has always accompanied my life and I remember turning the espresso machine back on after two months of lockdown- tears were rolling down my eyes. I felt as if my life was mine again and I knew how much I had underestimated coffee up until that moment.”
“Espresso, or nero as we say here, is reflected in literature and is enjoyed by the whole country, especially in Trieste,” said renowned local journalist Micol Brusaferro. “Coffee is an important ritual for Italians and I believe defining it a cultural heritage is correct.”
“I drink at least 3 cups a day,” said a local who moved here from Rome, Giuseppe Saggio. “And really it makes me so happy it should definitely become an officially recognized part of cultural heritage.”
“Italian coffee is a world recognized symbol of our country,” said Luca Marsi, a Trieste journalist and founder of Trieste Cafe. “Drinking coffee is an unmistakable gesture which represents Italy from Trieste to Naples. As a Triestino I see great enthusiasm about Italy’s decision to insert espresso on the UNESCO list of cultural heritage because coffee here symbolizes cultures, traditions and our local way of living.”
In January 2022 BBC Travel called Trieste the “surprising capital of coffee” in a lengthy article about the city.
Italy’s first bid was not approved by the national UNESCO commission last March 2022, but the city of Trieste (which considers itself the “capital of coffee” in Italy) decided to ignite the fire again. The petition can be signed at Antico Caffè San Marco from today on or directly online.
