Deep-dive

Identity: districts, languages, institutions

A municipality of about 200,000 residents divided into seven districts, with an indigenous Slovene community protected by law, a still-living Venetian-type dialect and Saint Justus as patron on 3 November.

Sections: Geography · History · Population · Languages · Time zone · Public holidays

Administrative structure

The Comune di Trieste is organised in seven administrative districts (circoscrizioni), covering the Karst plateau (Altipiano Ovest and Altipiano Est), the hillside and coastal districts (Roiano-Gretta-Barcola-Cologna-Scorcola), the centre (Città Nuova-Barriera Nuova-San Vito-Città Vecchia), San Giacomo and Barriera Vecchia, San Giovanni-Chiadino-Rozzol and the southern area of Servola-Chiarbola-Valmaura-Borgo San Sergio. Trieste is also the capital of the special-statute region Friuli-Venezia Giulia; the Province was abolished and its functions passed to the Region and wide-area bodies.

Languages

Alongside Italian, people speak Triestino, a Venetian-type dialect still in daily use. The Slovene community is indigenous in the Karst villages and several city districts: it is protected by Law 38/2001 (rules for the Slovene linguistic minority) and has Slovene-language schools at every level, a permanent theatre and its own media; on the plateau, place-name signage is bilingual. German and English are widespread in tourist services and in the scientific system, where the working language is often English.

Patron saint and institutions

The patron saint is Saint Justus (San Giusto), celebrated on 3 November (city holiday, municipal offices closed). Institutions include the cathedral and castle of San Giusto, Teatro Verdi, the Revoltella Museum, the University (1924), SISSA (an international doctoral school), ICTP (the theoretical physics centre founded by Abdus Salam under UNESCO and IAEA auspices), the Stelio Crise State Library and the Attilio Hortis civic library. Trieste is the city of Italo Svevo, Umberto Saba and James Joyce's Trieste years.

Population

City figurePeriod: Jan 1, 2025Validsample unknown

Source: ISTAT – Popolazione residente: bilancio demografico (dataflow 22_315, DCIS_POPORESBIL1)

198,388people

Foreign residents, share of population

City figurePeriod: Jan 1, 2025Estimatesample unknown

Source: ISTAT – Stranieri residenti al 1° gennaio (dataflow 29_7, DCIS_POPSTRRES1)

12.4 %