by InTrieste
To celebate the 6th anniversay of the international community ‘Expats in Trieste’ we’ve interviewed five female expats who call Trieste their home.
Lucia Varlotta
“My connection with Trieste spans three generations starting with my Bisnonna Lucia, my namesake. We were born 99 years and 1 day apart, me in Los Angeles, California and her in Pola, Istria.
After settling in Trieste post World War I to find work, she mirrored the city itself by showing incredible resilience and independence in the face of much adversity. She crossed paths with Gabrielle D’Annunzio during the movement to liberate Fiume (now Rijeka, Croatia). She hid Jews in her home in a German-occupied Trieste during World War II, almost being caught on some occasions. And she was a single mother in the 1930s who bought herself a wedding ring to stave off judgement. She raised my nonna Maria by herself in the attic of a building two blocks away from where I’m now living in Borgo Teresiano.
My ties to the city were passed on through my Nonna Maria. Despite growing up in Trieste with the immensely difficult challenges of World War II, from keeping the secret of Jewish exiles in her home as a little girl, losing childhood friends in the bombings of her Borgo Teresiano neighborhood to the hunger that many other Triestini struggled with, she only ever spoke of the city with affection. At age 20 in 1950, she met my nonno Armando, a Southern Italian turned American soldier stationed in Trieste when it was a Free Territory controlled by Americans, British and Yugoslavia.
They courted on the beaches of Barcola, and eventually married at Chiesa di San Bartolomeo on Viale Miramare which I now pass by every time I go for a dip in the sea. A year later, my father was born here. My family then left Trieste following my nonno Armando’s military postings and eventually immigrated to Los Angeles, where I was born and raised. But they continued to visit throughout the years and passed on plenty of fond stories to the younger generations.
I never thought I would get to call Trieste home, until last year. During a pandemic-inspired sabbatical with my now-husband (who just so happens to be Milanese), we traveled around Italy for a few months to visit his family and explore new places. Even though it wasn’t part of our original itinerary, we decided to visit Trieste on a whim because of my family history with the city. And we completely fell in love with the ornate Austro-Hungarian architecture set against the backdrop of the bright blue Adriatic, the dinners of fresh seafood paired with sparkling Prosecco from the green hills of Friuli and the smell of sea spray and pine meeting on the sun-warmed pavement of Barcola. I immediately understood the adoration towards Trieste that I’d always heard in my families’ stories and felt an intense connection to the city as I toured the sites where my family once lived. And on this chance visit, we also happened to run into the editor of this very magazine who introduced us to an exciting community of other travelers and expats. We made plans to move here shortly after.”
Anna Vedeneeva
“I was born in Moscow and I’ve been passionate about fashion since I was a child. From my first visit to Italy at the age of 18 I fell in love with this magnificent country. Inspired by Italy, art, beauty and fashion, I moved to Florence at the age of 22 to study at the most prestigious fashion Institute in Italy – Polimoda. It was bigger than a dream, I was so happy to be there. It’s one of those things that make you realize you’re on the right path, you know?
My graduation collection give birth to my own brand. In the same year I also become a mother to my daughter Malvina, she is 8 now. In 2020, a stroke of luck brought me to Trieste. It was love at first sight. I’m happy to be here and I see my future in this city.
The pandemic period brought a lot of internal transformations in my life. I began to study the topics of harmony, love and happiness, so my vision of fashion also changed a lot. The mission of my brand is to help women to fall in love with themselves, reveal their inner beauty first of all, and make the high-quality clothes become the basis for them in their search for their true style.”
Sofi Deyneka
“I’m from Ukraine, from a small town called Yuzhne, which means “southern”. As its name suggests, it’s located in the southern part of the country, near Odessa. I loved drawing since I can remember myself, and before I could even talk, I already drew on (and ruined) books and any paper I could find. This way I ended up in the world of art.
During kindergarten the educators noticed my passion, so when I started first grade, my grandma singed me up for an art school. There were times when I felt like stopping, but my grandma insisted that I continue. She really believed in my ability to become a painter.
At 16 I started going to an art Lyceum in Odessa, specializing in ceramics, but mostly because it had the watercolor painting classes, which I wanted to pursue as a career at the time.
I graduated 4 years later and moved 800km away to study graphic design and illustration in the Lviv National Academy of Arts. What an adventurous time!
During my stay in Lviv, I met Oles, a street musician who had lived for many years in Trieste. We dated for two years, and in July 2018 we got married. Six months later we moved to Trieste. It was very hard to move before the pandemic started, because I didn’t manage to make the connections needed to adapt to a new city, learn and practice a new language. Now I feel I’ve made good progress. I am still exploring new passions, even stepping outside of drawing, which has been my comfort zone for most of my life.
I am taking a course in web design, which excites me a lot.
I’m looking forward to developing this into a career, while always keeping illustration as a trustful companion to spend my free time with.”
Erin Johnson
“I grew up mostly in California and Virginia, and lived in New York for most of my 20s. When I was finishing my master’s there I was looking for jobs all over the world that would combine my interests in science and international development. I ended up finding a one-year contract here in Trieste for an organization that supports capacity building for women scientists in developing countries…one year turned into 7 and here I still am.
I struggled a lot the first several months because I moved here not knowing anyone nor speaking a word of Italian. I didn’t know where to buy anything and I missed a lot the convenience and diversity of New York. Once I started to make friends though and to get to know the city better, I began to feel at home pretty quickly.
I work in communications for an organization that supports women scientists and capacity building in developing countries. It’s a rewarding job and prior to the pandemic involved a lot of international travel, an aspect I have really been missing!
I can understand a lot of it and I know some words and phrases. Having lived only in Trieste in Italy, occasionally I use a Triestina word without knowing it and my fiancé (who is not Triestino) laughs at me. I’m fascinated by the many dialects and languages of Italy!
My favorite thing in the world is just to explore; in fact I spent my first few years here just traveling to a new place every weekend, I think I have exhausted every town within a 4-hour radius of Trieste. I like photography too, so I usually bring my camera along with me. It would be hard to give up the sea and the quality of life in Trieste.
Sai Joshi
“I am a typical Indian girl who never thought would get a chance to move abroad and settle in a fairytale-like European city. As a kid, whenever I found myself in a blue flunk, I always dreamt of a long pier that disappeared into deep blue waters. That was my escape place! Every time I was tired of reality my mind would take me to an elusive place which had a power to make all sorrows go away. This was the time when I wasn’t even aware if something like existed in the world.
In January 2022, I moved to Trieste with my husband right after our wedding in December. Having spent 27 years of my life in India, it wasn’t very easy for us to move to Europe. Every day, from language to food was a challenge when we started. I was never used to the chilly weather conditions. The warmth with which the people here approached us, helped us, made our life smooth made it so much easier. Our house owner, our neighbors and most significantly the expats group became a great part of our social life. Coming from collectivist culture, I crave for human interactions and being connected to expats gives me a sense of security.
I can spend hours every single day at Molo Audace and Piazza Unita d’Italia. Trieste is also one of the European cities with the highest quality of life. Walking around the city at midnight without any kind of fear or insecurity was a completely new feeling for me. Moving to a place that offers clear air, work opportunities, zero crime and efficient public health is a blessing in itself!”
