The city is beautiful, filled with squares, fountains, statues, museums, famous historical coffee shops. It is very easy to walk from one end to the other of the lower city, and there are many pedestrian streets. Many Italian writers wrote some of their best works there as did James Joyce who lived there in voluntary exile from 1904 to 1915. He finished writing the Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man in Trieste.

Trieste once had many canals designed to transport goods from the port right into the city center. Today only one is left, the Canale Grande, which provides a striking backdrop to the neo-Classical Church of Sant'Antonio Nuova and the Serb Orthodox church of San Spiridione.

I could no longer postpone my visit to the cemetery since I had promised my friend that we'd go to Venice – only a two hour train trip away – once her congress ended. The next morning, armed with directions, I took a bus up into the Trieste hills where the weather was cooler, the houses lovely and the views breathtaking.

I asked the driver to let me off at the cemetery. I explained my mission to the caretaker there: I was searching for a grave that dated back to 1926. I gave him the row and grave numbers that I had in my correspondence. I felt a great sense of peace as I walked through the cemetery with the caretaker, under tall old shade trees, almost a little forest. 

When we got to the row, we started counting off the graves together. This should have been a simple task, but while a few of the graves were cleaned up and well-tended, most had been allowed to return to nature.  Many were totally concealed by shrubs, plants, decades of fallen leaves. Some were obviously single graves.  But in some cases the vegetation was so thick that it was impossible to tell if a single person or a husband and wife were buried there.

After a few unsuccessful attempts at locating the grave, the caretaker left me sitting on a bench while he went off to search the archives. He thought that it would help our quest if he could find the names of the people buried in the adjacent graves. It took him a while to return, and I started to count off the graves in the row once again. Suddenly I found myself standing in front of a mound of leaves and had a strong feeling that this was it. I don't know why – there were no voices, flashes, ghosts – just a strong conviction that I had arrived at my destination.

I started scraping away the leaves with my bare hands, tearing up roots and branches. And then I came across a raised letter. Brushing away the dirt I saw the letters of my last name and I knew I had found my aunt's grave.

By the time the caretaker returned my hands were bleeding and filthy. "This is it!" I told him excitedly. He told me I was lucky that the letters were raised bronze, because if they had been chiseled into the stone they would probably be weathered away and illegible by now. 

I asked him to please clean off the tombstone. I wanted to give this small baby the honor of recognition, even though I realized that the grave would become overgrown again in a few short years. I offered the caretaker 50 Euros, but he would only take 40. He promised me that it would be ready for my inspection that very afternoon. 

I decided to wait until the following morning for fear that he wouldn't finish the job as quickly as he had thought.  I didn't want to be disappointed. Having waited so long I could wait a little bit more.

I took the bus towards the city and got off on the hill of San Giusto, just above my pension. This hill dominates Trieste and during Roman times – and even well before – was the center of the city's political, social and cultural life. I explored the cathedral, the remains of the Roman basilica and the castle. The city's war dead are also commemorated on this hill in the Park of Remembrance.

The next morning the caretaker met me at the gate and took me straight to the grave. He had done a beautiful job. The bronze letters were in perfect condition. Time and weather had left them intact. The inscription, in Italian, was very simple.

Only one corner of the tombstone was cracked. The caretaker explained that it had been penetrated by a large root which had taken him a long time to extricate. It had been more work than he had anticipated, he said.

I offered him more money, but all he wanted was another 10 Euros. He said: "I told myself if the signora comes back I will ask her for 10 Euros more. But if she doesn't return, I will still consider her my friend!"

Sidebar

Trieste Tourist Information
Piazza Unita d'Italia 4/b, Trieste
Tel: 040-3478312

Castles On The Gulf Of Trieste

Duino Castle

• High on a cliff top overlooking a fishing village on the Gulf of Trieste
• Amid beautiful gardens and a walking path named after the famous German poet, Rainier Maria Rilke
• The current residence of the princely family of von Thurm und Taxis
• Dazzling gardens and a large part of the Castle open to the public
• Hours 9 AM to 5:30 PM; closed Tuesdays.
• Tel: +39 040-208120; Fax: +39 040-208022; www.castellodiduino.it

• Built as the royal residence of Hapsburg Archduke Maximillian between 1856 – 1860
• Beautiful gardens and parks with over 2,000 species of plants
• Gardens are also home to the Aquarium Museum, the Environmental Education Center, the Protected Species Sighting and Rescue Center and a 30-hectare nature reserve.
• Hours 9 AM to 7 PM
• Tel: +39 040-224143; Fax: +39 040-224220; www.castello-miramare.it

• L'Albero Nascosto Hotel Residence
Via Felice Venezian 18 (in the historic center)
34124 Trieste
Tel: +39 040-300188; Fax:178-2230629

• Starhotel Savoia Excelsior
 Riva del Mandracchio 4 (opposite the Congress Center)
 34124 Trieste
 Tel: +39 040-77941; Fax: +39 040638260; www.starhotels.com

Grado Tourist Information
Viale Dante 72;34073 Grado
Tel: +39 0431 877111; Fax: +39 041 83509

Historical Cafes In Trieste

Caffe Tommaseo
Piazza Tommaseo 4/C
Tel: 040-36266
The oldest café in the city, opened in 1830, with a wonderful view of the port

Caffe Degli Specchi
Piazza Unita d'Italia 2
Tel: 040-365777
Opened in 1839, on the main piazza, it is one of the most crowded cafes of Trieste.

Caffe San Marco
Via Battisti 18
Tel: 040-363538
Opened in 1914, and still retaining the atmosphere of that time, this café was frequented by writers, artists and intellectuals and today is popular with university students.

Dulcy Blattner is a retired communications specialist. Today she is a freelance writer and loves to travel, especially out of season and to less frequented places. Dulcy is an American expatriot, and speaks five languages. Readers can contact Dulcy at:dulcylou@yahoo.com