Park of Remembrance on San Giusto Hill

In the very centre of Trieste, on the slopes of San Giusto Hill, the Park of Remembrance was established in 1926. This large green area crossed by Via Capitolina, the road leading to the top of the hill, contains a series of Karst stones engraved with the names of Trieste citizens who fell in war, together with their rank, unit, and the date and place of death.

The Parks of Remembrance were an institution created in the early Fascist years and promoted by Dario Lupi, then Undersecretary for Education. Inspired by the tree of liberty, one of the symbols of the French Revolution, Lupi encouraged every Italian school to inaugurate a “sacred space” in memory of those who had fought in the Great War. The result was a place of devotion, but also of control over the memory of the first world conflict.

The Trieste Park of Remembrance is divided into 26 sectors: the stones dedicated to the First World War are in sectors 16 to 25, while the others commemorate the colonial wars, the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War. There is no mention of Trieste’s fallen who served in Austro-Hungarian uniform.

The most evocative way to reach the park is on foot along the spectacular Scala dei Giganti from Piazza Goldoni. A second staircase then leads to the obelisk-shaped fountain inaugurated in 1938 during Mussolini’s visit to Trieste, when he proclaimed the racial laws. Alternatively, San Giusto Hill can be reached from the Piazza Unità and Via del Teatro Romano area by climbing through the charming lanes of medieval Trieste. Once at the top, visitors cross the remains of the Roman basilica and descend along the paths of the park.