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• Pontile Ormeggi

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Trieste - the beautiful Capital

Friuli Venezia Giulia, sea, plains, hills, mountains alternating over a hundred kilometers, marked by testimonies to history and culture. FriuliVeneziaGiulia, a melting pot of different ethnic groups and cultures that have left a deep impression on the artworks and architecture. Various centers represent and synthesize the essential moments in the history of this land. Aquileia represents the charm and is a reminder of what was, centuries earlier, the center of diffusion of the roman influence and its Patriarchy. Cividale instaed, opens up to display its late-medieval monuments and Longobard artwork. Codroipo, already an important road junction in roman times, reminds us of the Venetian presence in this region with spectacular Villa Manin of Passariano.

Trieste is a borderline city full of atmosphere with a large active port. Due to its position it has always been contended; up until the First World War it was part of the Habsburg empire and after the Second World War it was reclaimed by Yugoslavia. The Aquarium The town aquarium, near the port and the fish market, is one of the main attractions of Trieste. It has many examples of marine fauna from the Adriatic. The Castle of San Giusto Above the port, on top of the hill, the castle built by the governors of Venice starting from 1368 is to be found - located on a terrazza with a splendid view of the gulf of Trieste. There is a museum of 19th century paintings and prints from Trieste and a collection of weapons and armour inside. The early Christian Basilica The remains of the Roman basilica (or tribunal) are located near the castle, built around the year 100 A.C. Note the judges bench and throne.

The Dome In the Dome of the city, dedicated to San Giusto, the judges bench and throne of the Roman basilica have been reused as seats for the bishops and priests. There are two thrones and two benches as the building was created in the 14th century combining two churches from the 5th century. The two apses are decorated with elegant mosaics from the 13th century in a Venetian style. The Museum of History and Art and the lapidary garden. The archaeological collections to be found here are proof of the intense traffic that used to unite Trieste to the ancient Greek world.

Ancient Pordenone is built around a single street, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, flanked by porticoes and houses made from red bricks, some of which exhibit decorative frescoes. The thirteenth century Town Hall building ends the road in a spectacular manner, with eccentric curved roofs, lateral minaret towers and the clock tower from the 16th century. Opposite we find the Civic Museum and not far away the Dome, with its bell-tower which is a good example of the decorative Romanesque style made from bricks.

A city directly involved in furious battles during the two world wars and situated near to the border with Slovenia. The roads with arches and pastel coloured houses with balconies full of flowers have been renovated. There is a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains from the castle, surrounded by fortifications from the 16th century.

Wines from the Collio

Wines from the Collio The small, semi circular patch of vineyards called the Collio, in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, 379 kilometers from Milan, produces wines with an alluring cachet -- small production (only 1200 hectares), limited editions of rare labels, subtleties of flavor for the most sensitive and experienced palates, and, at 12-13% proof, as much potency as charisma. The best Collio wines are found only in top restaurants, by design. The Consorzio Tutela Vini Collio of Cormons believes that is where the wines get the appreciation they deserve, by connoisseurs who won't be deterred by their steep prices. So a visit to the Collio's enotecas, wineries, and restaurants dishing up middle-European recipes as complements to the fragrant whites and full bodied reds, is essential for those who want more than an occasional encounter with this elite, enigmatic group of Italian wines. The Collio sits flush with Italy's border with Slovenia, from Gorizia to just before Cividale, between the Judrio and Isonzo rivers. Vines have grown here since Cividale was Julius Caesar's Forum Iulii. Before World War II and the acquisition of the territory by Italy, the Collio was a wine producing area for the Austrian emperors.

In 1962 the pro-loco of Gorizia launched one of Italy's first "strade del vino" here. Driving this 15-kilometer road, we made an estimate: except for the woods, orchards and cornfields, it looks as though almost 100 percent of the hill and valley land surface is occupied by vineyards. The Collio is a verdant expanse, broken only by an occasional turreted villa, steeple peering out of a wood, or corner mini-village of sparse buildings, and it reaches upward over layers of forested hills and mountains into Slovenia, unmarred by industrial eyesores or town house development. In the nourishing summer sun, the leafy cascades on row after row of vines transmit a feeling of fecund growth -- vines spreading, leaves flowing, grapes ripening -- and winery bank accounts fattening. A bottle of D.O.C. Collio wine can run from Lire 26,000 to close to Lire 80,000 for a Picolit. In Cormons, Collio's small urban center, I picked up a list of the 19 D.O.C. Collio wines, 13 of which are white.

They include the Malvasia istriana with a flavor suggestive of "exotic fruit and white pepper," or the Sauvignon flavored of "sage and sambuco," or the famed, rare and the capricious dessert wine, Picolit, produced in small quantities, not every year, hinting at acacia honey. I was told to drink Picolit in an ample, fine crystal glass "with a maximum of one other person," perhaps a hint at aphrodisiac properties as well. What makes the wines so special? First, there's the microclimate. Just below the Julian Alps, the Collio doesn't suffer extreme humidity for much of the year. The nearby Adriatic Sea salts and modifies Alpine air currents, preventing deep freezing, and reflected light from the sea adds warmth in winter. Second, grapes are primarily cultivated on the hills, a micro ecology favorable to the production of the best wines. Third, the mineral rich earth benefits the wine's taste, and is moistened by the rivers and rainfall.

Irrigation is unnecessary, avoiding overcrowding on the vines and bunching of grapes. The more grapes, the less quality, I was told. Fourth, wine making is a centuries old family business in the Collio and any wine producer will tell you that experience is the best teacher. Another reason, perhaps, for the pure taste and smooth texture of Collio wines is the emphasis placed by wine growers and local authorities on low use of fertilizers and pesticides. The Consorzio Tutela Vini Collio showed me a computerized information system linked to wineries that transmits information and alerts on climatic conditions and patterns, and bug infestation, to limit use of chemicals only to periods when they are absolutely necessary. There is no pesticide "season" in the Collio. Apparently, few wine growing areas of Italy make use of such services. The best times to visit the Collio? Anytime but winter. During September's vendemmia (vintage), or grape harvest, a festive air reigns and tourists are invited to join in grape picking; in the spring, the white cherry blossoms dominate the landscape: in the fall, the changing color of vine leaves and chestnut trees tint the vegetation red. In any season, the wine flows. One of the Collio's foremost promoters is Luigi Soini, director of the Cantina Produttori Cormons Vini del Collio e dell'Isonzo (via Mariano -- tel. 0481/60579).

Soini sells Cantina wines only to restaurants, a few enoteche, a short list of foreign distributors -- and visitors, who are encouraged (by appointment). Stop in for a brief lesson on Collio wines provided by Soini, tasting, and to see the collection of large wine barrels hand painted by leading Italian and international artists. Soini also developed a collector's wine, the Vino della Pace, in 1985. A vineyard on the Cantina property made up of vines from 55 countries produces grapes used to make the wine, which is sent every September to heads of state worldwide. Soini showed me thank you letters from world leaders -- Fidel Castro, Ronald Reagan and a stern note from the Queen's representative at Buckingham Palace, the only case where the wine was refused. The matter was cleared up later when Prince Charles made a visit to Trieste and picked up the wine bottle collection. That was a wise move -- a 1989 wine auction at Christie's in Florence netted Lire 5,600,000 for a set of 12 bottles of the Vino della Pace. A visit to an enoteca for a Malvasia or Traminer aperitif is a local pastime. The Cormons enoteca (Piazza 24 maggio -- tel. 0481/630371) is well-stocked with Collio wines, and a short wine seminar with selected tasting can be arranged for groups in advance. Wines can also be sampled at enotecas scattered near vineyards, and during the warm months open-air enotecas spring up along the roadsides. Pergolas of Slovene-named trattorie, and picnic tables under grape vines or trees, are crowded with locals imbibing as soon as breakfast is done, especially on the cooler hills overlooking the vineyards in the hazy heat below. You can make a thrifty variation on this custom and bring your wine and picnic to the two lush and shady parks in the area.

The Parco Naturale Bosco Romagno, just before the Venica winery, is small but perfectally suitable to the idea, with picnic tables under a canopy of trees along a stream and a playground for children. The Parco Naturale Plessiva, literally a stone's throw from Slovenia, is larger, and has trails through a wooded section where foxes and other wild animals abound. Ample space is available near the playgrounds for an impromptu lunch. The road signs for this park are few -- we took the road from Dolegna to Ruttars and kept our eyes out for the one weathered and broken sign leading to it. The cool stillness we found there made the search worthwhile. In the Collio's fine restaurants many of the wines can best be tasted in their proper element of Adriatic seafood, pungent game and seasoned cheese dishes influenced by Slovene and Austrian traditions. A Muller Thurgau goes right with trout; Ribolla Gialla is best with shellfish; cheese and salami require a Tocai; roasts a Pinot Nero.

The efficient Consorzio has made restaurant selection easy, albeit pricey, for tourists looking for a traditional gourmet menu. The "Botteghe Del Collio" is a choice list of nine restaurants serving D.O.C. Collio wines and fine cuisine. They bear a trademark -- a cast iron medallion emblazoned by the wine pitcher symbol -- for easy spotting, but a list can be picked up at the Cormons enoteca. Ludicrous cover charges are common at these restaurants, but where else can one find wild boar panzerotti, zzikrofi (herb-filled dumplings), goulasch alla triestina, pasta strudel with local sweet eggplant and zucchini and other middle-European specialties? Several hotels are combined with a "bottega," for example the three-star Felcaro Hotel (via San Giovanni 45) and the Trattoria "al Cacciatore" at the Subida Centro Vacanze (look for brown and white signs) in Cormons. These two also provide reserved guests with a coupon for an aperitivo gratis at the Cormons enoteca, as does the Cormons Trattoria Al Giardinetto.

There are also the 500 wineries, or aziende, to choose from for a purchasing visit, best scheduled in advance from Monday through Friday. One tip: to decide which azienda to visit, stop in at a few of your local top restaurants, or the restaurant of a five star hotel, for a look at their wine list. From that, you can pick which wine and winery to hunt down. In any case, it is hard to imagine how one could go wrong in just going down the list of aziende associated with the Enoteca, or from the aziende discovered by driving the back roads. You can create your own deluxe weekend package, complete with hotel, winery, and two "botteghe" restaurants, in the hilltop "borgo" of San Floriano. The Formentini Counts have produced wine since the 15th century from the castle winery, a part of which is now the four star, Romantik Golf Hotel. But you don't have to stay at the hotel to enjoy San Floriano's view of Collio and Slovenia vineyards, or the Museo del Vino and Cantina or the Friuli and Slovene specialties of the Castello Formentini or Alle Riodele restaurants. The view is just as breathtaking in another hilltop "borgo," Castelmonte in the northern Collio, and now that the new two star Hotel and Restaurant Al Pellegrino has opened, at a more affordable price. We stayed at a winery, the Azienda Agrituristica Venica in Dolegna, one of the most bucolic and untrammeled spots in the Collio.

The Venica is most proud of its Sauvignon, a prize winner for three consecutive years (1988-90), but its nine other D.O.C. wines in particular the Chardonnay, Ribolla Gialla and Pinot Grigio -- have been praised in wine publications as well. The Venica "bottega" restaurant didn't fail us either -- we were carried away by the ethereal tricolor gnocchi, or was it the Venica Brut we had with lunch? For overnight guests, the breakfast Gubana -- a local sweet bread filled with a mix of minced pine nuts and spices -- was an additional treat. It was the best of all the examples we tried and judged in area bakeries. About seven kilometers from Cormons and outside the Collio but usually included in a trip to the area, is Gradisca D'Isonzo, a pleasant town and site of the historic Enoteca Regionale "La Serenissima" (via Battisti, 26). Every year wine experts gather here and, after a week of round the clock wine tasting, select the best as the enoteca's stock. (The wines are from the Collio, the Isonzo river valley and other areas of Friuli and Italy). In Gradisca, we were also impressed with the friendly service and fresh seafood (live lobsters!) at the restaurant Al Commercio off the pleasant park in the town center (via Della Campagnola, 6). Non-wine pursuits are few in the Collio.

But just outside its border, and less than 10 kilometers from the Venica, is the Lombard town of Cividale del Friuli, an unpretentious and tranquil town on the Natisone river which attracts another sort of connoisseur. Art experts claim that the art in Cividale's Archeological Museum, the 8th century altar of Duke Ratchis in the Duomo's Museo Cristiano, and 8th century sculptures and reliefs in the Tempietto Longobardo represent the highest achievements of Lombard art in Italy. The Lombards were one of Europe's mysterious marauding Celtic tribes. They settled in northern Italy in the 6th century. Tourism hasn't even begun to reach noticeable levels in the area. In July we had the road to ourselves, and not a single tourist bus was sighted, probably because the nearby Adriatic beaches were bigger lures. The wines' fame, however, is spreading due to the relentless search for more and newer "Made in Italy" products. Before that Picolit gets any pricier and any more rare, make some time to unwind in the untrodden green hills of the Collio.