Panorama: on the left "Porto Vecchio" (the Old) and
on the right the "Porto Nuovo" (the New).
The fundamental event for our town was the granting of "Status of Free Port" by Emperor Karl VI in 1719. In this way Trieste could develop from a small fishing and salt exploiting village (6,000 inhabitants) into a thriving emporium with a population of about 160,000 inhabitants in 1860 becoming the third city in the Austrian Empire. The principle of free navigation in the Adriatic Sea meant protection to all vessels bound for any calls of Austrian Empire. Along with the port shipyards were soon built and in 1731 the salt pits were filled in and a new part of the town was settled. Emperess Maria Theresia in 1740 founded a new style in the administration and developed the port, building a new canal enlarging the piers and so the international trade could increase. With the end of the Republic of Venice (Treaty of Campoformido, 17th Oct. 1797) all its territories became Austrian Empire and Trieste was the natural heiress of Venice. Up to 1813 Trieste and its port were under Franch rule, then Austria resumed the government of the town.
The location of the Free port in the middle of 19th century was not particularly well suited and equipped and it needed to be updated also the communication by railway and roads were established with the construction of a new link with Vienna (South Railway) in 1857. In fact the increasing importance of trade in the Mediterranean Sea after the opening of Suez Canal in 1869 and the new connection with the Austrian railway system convinced the local authority and central government to develop and expand the port docks and piers. The sea floor was consolidated and artificial banks and an offshore dam were built. By 1883 four piers the dam and so called "Porto Nuovo" was ready. Also the goods railwaystation, warehouses, issurance companies, banks, shipping companies were the result of the free port and the town itself reached in the first decade of the 20th century one of its best economic booming periods: the population 174,000 in 1900 stepped up to 235,000 in 1910, a Stock Exchange was founded and regular maritime links were established with the Far East Countries as well as all Mediterranean ports; trading all kinds of merchandise from dry-fruits (Turkey) up to chinaware, cotton cloths, wool, colonial products, etc. But the War World I was approaching and the town and the port were deeply involved; finally on 4th November 1918 Italian troups lended at Trieste welcomed by the local population.
The Italian rule meant an enlargement of the port and its structure; new warehouses able to store 700,000 ton of various goods, the shipyards and manufacturing industries connected with naval industry were increased and where new imposing liners were designed and constructed. The typical features of the port soon after the coming of Italian administration was to supply the industries of the surrounding areas with row materials imported by sea. In fact it was suitable to be developed into an industrial port. It imported all sort of raw-materials to be processed on the spot or to be exported as finished products, but also it had the task to supply the inland and the eastern central countries with staples. So, along with the traditional activities inside the port were established ship-building docks, steel and iron, texile, paper-pulp, food and alcoholic drinks, brewery, chemicals, soap, oily seed pressing and ingeneering industries. All these enterprises required a lot of manpower and that meant for the town itself an increase in welfare and population.
Particular importance was devoted to ship-building activities connected with the construction of militar vessels and famous and widely admired liners (the fastest to cross the Atlantic route). Also the naval engines (Diesel) were built here to substitute the steam engines (Fabbrica Macchine S.Andrea, 1930). In that period also we can find the enlargement and updating of the warehouses with the cooling system to keep perishable goods fresh and providing a suitable catering service for all incoming and outgoing ships.
| Great changes had to come after the end of War World II because the large area which was the utility basin of the port disappeared cutting the province of Trieste with the border and deep shrinkage in the export trade marked that period. The situation slowly changed with the help of the Italian government, but the previous condition of local economy were not resumed. The international economic trends did not need so much manpower and the basic industries (iron steel, ship-building docks) modified their requirements. | Panorama: on the left "Porto Vecchio" (the Old) and on the right the "Porto Nuovo" (the New). |
Technology and research were the main targets and re-constructing of transport system with the use of big tankers, container-ships, and the mechanization of dock activities greatly diminished the employment in the port.
Other and new changes characterized the '90s since the end of former Yugoslavia and the formation of new indipendent countries of Slovenjia and Croatia with capitalistic oriented economy brought a new competition for the port of Trieste. Therefore the local port authorities and central government aimed all their efforts at specialization and technical advanced services. Nowadays the port deals in some well-defined goods: crude-oil with tanks and pipeline, storage and processing docks for coffee (Silocaf, the first for importance in Italy), citrus fruits and vegetables in refrigerators (Transfruit), storage and drying process of logs and timber (Scalo Legnami) and coal. Part of the Free port of Trieste is considered extra-customs area of the European Union and so, the goods left in the bounded warehouses do not pay any duty if they do not enter the E.U.
The Free port of Trieste is subdivided in the following areas:
Its specialized Terminals are:
Oil Tanker and the Map of the Pipeline
Technical features:
sqm 2,304,000
inside the Free-zone
sqm 1,613,500
km 12.128
47
km 75
sqm 925,000
for conventional load
up to ton 150
for containers
up to ton 42
up to ton 250
Pier, cranes and dock shed
