Trieste ( tree-EST, Italian: [triˈɛste] (listen); Slovene: Trst [tə̀ɾst, tə́ɾst]; German: Triest [tʁiˈɛst] (listen)) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is located towards the end of a narrow strip of Italian territory lying between the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia, which lies approximately 10–15 km (6–9 mi) to southeast of the city. Croatia is about 30 km (19 mi) to the south.
Trieste is at the head of the Gulf of Trieste. The city has a long coastline and is surrounded by grassland, forest, karstic areas. The city has a subtropical climate, unusual in relation to its relatively high latitude, due to marine breezes. In 2018, it had a population of about 205,000 and is the capital of the autonomous region Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Trieste belonged to the Habsburg Monarchy from 1382 until 1918. In the 19th century the monarchy was one of the Great Powers of Europe and Trieste was its most important seaport. As a prosperous trading hub in the Mediterranean region, Trieste became the fourth largest city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (after Vienna, Budapest, and Prague). In the fin de siècle period  it emerged as an important hub for literature and music. Trieste underwent an economic revival during the 1930s, and the Free Territory of Trieste became a major site of the struggle between the Eastern and Western blocs after the Second World War.
Trieste, a deep-water port, is a maritime gateway for Northern Italy, Germany, Austria and Central Europe. It is considered the end point of the Maritime Silk Road, with its connections to the Suez Canal and Turkey. Since the 1960s, Trieste has emerged as a prominent research location in Europe because of its many international organizations and institutions. The city lies at the intersection of Latin, Slavic and Germanic cultures where Central Europe meets the Mediterranean Sea, and is home to diverse ethnic groups and religious communities.
Trieste has the highest percentage of researchers in Europe in relation to population. In 2020, the city was also rated as one of the 25 best small towns in the world for quality of life and one of the ten safest cities in the world in 2021."Città della Barcolana", "Città della bora", "Città del vento", "Vienna by the sea" and "City of coffee" are also idioms used to describe Trieste.


The city is a major seaport located on the Adriatic Sea, serving as a transport hub for much of Central and Eastern Europe. Trieste is also an important railway junction for southeastern Europe. The port of Trieste is one of the biggest in Italy, and among the largest in the Mediterranean Basin; it forms part of an intermodal transportation system including railways (Trieste–Venice line), roads (A4 Torino-Trieste motorway) and waterways (the Friuli Venezia Giulia canal).

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