Land of enjoyment.
City of discovery.
Bella Italia
Dolce Vita on the Adriatic coast
Like all big port cities, Trieste is characterized by its openness. An openness which, since the border was opened between Italy and Slovenia, felt as if the city was finally able to breathe a huge sigh of relief after having been squeezed up against the brick wall of a decades-long calamitous history. Today, Trieste’s hinterland extends quite naturally to the Slovenian vineyards of Gorska Brda, a perfect complement to the Collio of Friuli, with its fruity red wines and mild whites. The rugged landscapes of the Karst region, which begins just above Residenza Hollmann, yearns to be conquered. And the prospect of delectable truffles, white in autumn and black in May, draws aficionados to Motovun, which is practically just around the corner in Croatia. Istria, with its many hidden attractions and red soil … an experience for all the senses regardless of the time of year.
City of Writers
And then, there is the Trieste of writers: Amid the original Jugendstil décor of Café San Marco, you sit at the same tables where James Joyce once penned his Ulysses. And you can watch the authors of today composing works of their own. Much earlier, Rainer Maria Rilke sought to appease his lovesickness at the castle of the princes of Thurn & Taxis in Duino … and allow his immortal Duino Elegies to mature while strolling along the coastal cliffs. To this day, the “sentiero Rilke”, close to Residenza Hollmann, runs from Sistiana and through the cliffs to Duino. Last though far from least, the Trieste of today is brought vividly to life in the detective stories of Veit Heinichen, who chases his Commissario Proteo Laurenti through every corner of the city.
Let’s be honest, where better could Robert Hollmann have realized his personal vision of dolce vita than right here?
