UIPA CONGRESS

ITINERARIES: TRIESTE

From 14 to 17 November 2019, the 41st UIPA National Congress "Les Clefs d'Or" was held at the Savoia Excelsior Palace in Trieste. After Milan and Naples, the choice fell on this city to give continuity to the idea of promoting our meetings in places where the presence of the Golden Keys is not solid, thus promoting the Concierge profession. Even if during these three very short days the weather was not entirely friendly, we had the opportunity to know and explore the artistic beauties that this seaside city offers. Trieste, established as a free municipality only in 1300 but, constantly threatened in its quest for autonomy, placed itself spontaneously under the protection of Leopold III of Austria in 1382, establishing the long and fruitful relationship with the Habsburg dynasty. The transition to modern Trieste took place in 1719, when Charles VI issued an edict decreeing freedom of navigation, thus opening the doors to trade and granting the city the privilege of Free Port. Later, under Maria Theresa and Joseph II, the benefits granted to the city increased the already prosperous trades, attracting at the same time people of various origins and thus creating that cosmopolitanism that still today can be found in the places of worship, in the dialect and in the surnames of the people of Trieste themselves. The old village, within the medieval perimeter, was no longer enough to accommodate the inhabitants, whose number had grown considerably in a short time and, consequently, the city expanded, gaining ground on the sea front and gradually connecting the various hills that fan out from the interior towards the coast. These are the words collected during the visit to the city, listened to the careful explanation of the guide at our disposal. A fascinating story full of important but also very sad moments. This is the Magazzino 18, a place where during the exodus of the Istrian and Dalmatian populations, all the goods and possessions of those people were deposited. This place, located a few steps from the old city port, still keeps the belongings of our compatriots forced to flee at the end of the Second World War, from Istria, Rijeka and Dalmatia to escape the ethnic cleansing carried out by the partisans of Marshal Tito. A leap into the sad and painful past that opens up when, crossing the door of this warehouse, you begin to glimpse portraits, religious icons, objects of daily use, stacked chairs, beds and even wardrobes: all of this conveys a profound sense of abandonment and shattered hopes, accentuated by the testimonies of those who experienced this bitter historical event at first hand. Left the Warehouse 18 all the group has then walked toward the center of the city, where we have visited the most important historical residences of the city. In '800, in a climate of general prosperity, were founded large insurance groups, shipping companies, developed the stock exchange and grew the artistic and cultural production. The growth of the city, on the one hand made it one of the most important centres of the then Habsburg empire, and on the other reinforced the feeling of Italianism, both cultural and political. The afternoon was dedicated to the visit of the Miramare Castle, residence wanted by Maximilian of Hapsburg perched on a promontory of the Gulf of Trieste. Our city's history is enriched with the epilogue of its Hapsburg domination with the return of the city to be part of Italy, which took place in 1918 in a triumphant tricolour, but this annexation relegated Trieste to the role of "ordinary port", having lost, once released from the Central European context, its uniqueness. The Second World War led to the loss of the lands of the Istrian peninsula, which passed to the newly formed Yugoslavia, and the history of the city in that dark period is characterized by numerous sad events, many of which still cast dark shadows after more than half a century. The fate of the city, claimed by Yugoslavia, remained uncertain for a long time: pending definition, the hinterland was divided into two parts, one administered by the Anglo-Americans and the other by the Yugoslavs. Specifically, the city was subject to Allied administration with the establishment of the Free Territory of Trieste. Only in 1954, with the signing of the Memorandum of London, Trieste and its hinterland were definitively returned to Italy. The discovery of this beautiful city has been for all of us a very important experience that has allowed us to live the beauty and history of Italy from 1800 to the present day. A knowledge that puts the city among the destinations to suggest in that endless process of exploring the beauty of Italy, rich in history and culture.

Marco Rinaldo