It turns out that tomorrow is Ferragosto, a public holiday celebrated on August 15th in all of Italy.

According to Wikipedia it originates from Feriae Augusti, the festival of emperor Augustus, who made the 1st of August a day of rest after weeks of hard work on the agricultural sector.

What it means to us is that we just have no idea whether restaurants will be open, so we needed to ensure we had a few basic food items in the apartment: pasta, tomato sauce, olives, cheese, salami, grapes … and wine (that last item goes pretty much without saying).

That quick bit of Sunday shopping needed to be done in the tourist district, since stores in town are not open on Sundays, so we headed out to explore the harbour area today.

Along the walking route we found lots of potential detours into ruins and piazzas and down side streets, but we didn’t take them. Instead, Ted took pictures of lots of places to which we’ll return later in the week and explore more thoroughly.

Here’s a taste of what’s to come:

At times we felt as if we were back in Vienna, with all the Hapsburg-era architecture, and even statues to the Hapsburg monarchs.

Without intending it, we happened upon the Piazza Unità d’Italia, where government palaces surround a large public square. It’s immediately obvious from the architecture that this square was built when Trieste was the most important seaport of the Habsburg Austro-Hungarian Empire.

We made a quick visit to Trieste’s branch of Eataly, which is supposed to be the quintessential Italian gourmet food emporium. To me, it was a bit like a fancy Whole Foods, with the benefit of several on-site restaurants. Everything was beautifully presented, but also very expensive. That said, we picked up some cheese, dry-cured sausage, and dry pasta… and then rewarded ourselves with cappuccino and an Aperol spritz at one of the many cafés opposite the harbour.

En route back home we crossed Trieste’s Grand Canal (their mini-Venice) and checked out the array of eateries to which we may need to return.

Back in our apartment, the bells of San Giacomo’s across the street are ringing (it’s VERY cool to be close enough to watch them swing as they toll 18:00), so it must be time to think about pizza and wine in the piazza.