By In Trieste
Giorgio Rossi was born in Istria but considers himself a Triestino. He has been the councilor for culture, tourism, and sport for the past 10 years. In Trieste interviewed him on the past, present and future of our beautiful town.
In Trieste: How would you define Trieste at this particular historical moment?
G Rossi: The center of Europe, unique history, freedom of thought, and integration.
IT: What do you mean?
GR: I feel like this particular moment in history is reminiscent of the Habsburg Empire, where different cultures, minorities and religions cohabitated in complete freedom.
IT: Are you a Triestino?
GR: I am an expat. In 1953, when I was 6 years old, my family and I fled from the former Yugoslavia. We moved to Trieste and experienced all of the World War II complications in this city.
IT: What was that like?
GR: Trieste’s WW II history was not easy. The city was liberated in 1918, followed by the war in Carso, and later by fascism. From 1945-54 Trieste was liberated again and remained under UK-US occupation for 9 years.
IT: What a complex history.
GR: Meanwhile, the place I was born – now known as Croatia – was under the Yugoslavian regime. The situation was hard for 9 years, but then Trieste was liberated for the second time when Italy took over, and our city had to restart yet again. A complicated story of past war times, due to cultural conflicts, as Trieste has always been a part of the border region.
IT: A history that made Trieste what it is today.
GR: Trieste has been through a lot of insecurities, and many ups and downs which were especially tricky for the city. But Trieste always came back a winner.
IT: What are some examples?
GR: In the past five years Trieste has regained its fame and power in many ways. Especially with the port and tourism picking up. Sole 24 in 2019 placed Trieste as the third most livable city in Italy – quite a success!
IT: Fantastic!
GR: Trieste is also the city of culture, literature, and sport. We had over one million tourists visit us in 2019. It was an extraordinary success, underlying yet again that Trieste is full of potential. Sure, Trieste has been slowed down by the virus, like the rest of the world, but it will come back stronger than before, as it always has.
IT: How do you see the future of Trieste?
GR: Trieste has so much potential. For example, Porto Vecchio, with the public investment of 70-80 million euros, is going to be the beginning of the cultural regeneration of our city.
IT: It will probably generate a lot of interest in our town.
GR: Trieste has the advantage of 2000 years of culture as opposed to the United States, for example. But we are, of course, different from the rest of Italy. We are less rational, more instinctive. The group Expats in Trieste clearly shows there is interest in moving to our city.
IT: How is Trieste different from say, Rome or Milan?
GR: Trieste is different from the rest of Italy in the sense that there’s a multitude of cultures, languages and religions that you won’t find in any other Italian city.
IT: And our city definitely did well during the lockdown.
GR: I am 73 and have lived through some very difficult times historically speaking. Everyone is frightened by the coronavirus, but to tell you the truth, we’ve seen many of these situations– wars, earthquakes. As I see it, yes, it is a complicated situation, but we must continue to do our best.
IT: How did the summer go in Trieste with respect to tourism?
GR: There were many people who passed through this summer. Many tourists come for a few days, but of course it was nothing compared to last year. Many hotels suffered from lack of tourists. I believe that until a coronavirus vaccine has been invented, traveling will remain complicated.
IT: We see that Commune di Trieste cares a lot about the cultural events of the city. For example, all Civic Museums are now free until December 31, and there are the new totem poles all over the city.
GR: When I became Councilor of Culture, in 2016, we had 250 000 visitors in the museums. In 4 years we’ve registered 650 000 visitors – an outstanding result, due to many cultural and infrastructure initiatives. We’ve also reduced the price of entrance tickets drastically, which has brought in more visitors.
IT: Great thinking!
GR: In the current economic situation, I believe that spending 30 euros for museum tickets per family is too much. At the beginning we reduced the price, but now decided to let visitors in free. That way we give more people an opportunity to discover Trieste’s treasures.
IT: Trieste in a way is an example of a perfectly multicultural city.
GR: I think the future of the world is the happy cohabitation between different cultures. But, of course, the only way for that to happen is to teach respect from early on. To succeed in the world today, you need to speak other languages and understand other cultures.
IT: Where do you see Trieste in 5 years?
GR: All the Rive will be car-free as there will be underground parking everywhere. There will be a bike path from Sacchetta all the way to Barcola. The Natural Museum of History in Sacchetta will be reopened. And Porto Vecchio (the Old Port) will be bustling.
IT: Wonderful!
GR: I feel that I owe it to the city to give back as much as it has given me all these years.
