Old port of Trieste

The Porto Vecchio is the port of Trieste’s oldest area. It was a trade center for lands under Austro-Hungarian rule. Presently, it is a major part of the port of Trieste’s cultural heritage. A huge project is underway to revitalize the old port, and a new multi-purpose terminal has been added to the older facilities.

The Porto Vecchio

Porto Vecchio, located in the heart of the city, covers an area of about 600,000 sq.m. and represents a jewel to be relaunched through the identification of new functions.The " hangars", the oldest buildings of the port, were erected after the model of the Lagerhäuser, a word which refers to those parts of a city that are used for goods handling and include warehouses for the storage and stocking of goods, from their arrival in port to their shipment and distribution.
The port system visually links Miramare Castle, Barcola and San Giusto Castle and follows three directions: a central one, connecting the port with the city, a second one, corresponding to the piers, and a third one, adjacent to the railway.
Each building is an example of the technical architecture at the end of the XIX century, a period of transition for the construction principles and configuration of maritime structures, which were adjusting to a defensive function and to the new trend of equipment mechanisation.

The renewal of Porto Vecchio

The area of Porto Vecchio is an opportunity for the economic relaunching of the port and the city, for it is a development centre with a maritime vocation, but also with urban significance. Today the choice of trieste, in line with that of the major world ports, is to privilege also those activities that are indirectly related to its port.
Since 1972 Porto Vecchio has gradually lost its function, that has been taken up by the new infrastructures built in the southern part of the city. They will be further enlarged and will host the activities now carried out at Porto Vecchio.
The Trieste port Authority is deeply involved in the restoration and rehabilitation intervention in Porto Vecchio. Porto Vecchio will therefore become a new district within the city, a district mainly devoted to port activities, sailing and yachting, cruise industry, exhibitions and services. The historical warehouses will host new activities and their historical identity will be enhanced by the new functions they will play: they will be turned into specialisation schools for the various professions of the maritime sector, academic centres of excellence as well as conference, cultural and arts centres.