Sara GONIZZI BARSANTI / Massimo BRAINI
(University of Trieste, Italy)

Outline: Study and reconstruction of the urban development of the ancient city of Trieste from the analysis of the approaches to the city and the roads inside the city. Study of the continuty and the changes in the urban road system.

Abstract: The archaeological surveys taken over the last two decades in the heart of Trieste, especially in the neighborhood of “Cittavecchia” from Piazza Cavana alond the ridge of via dei Capitelli, permit to reconstruct the various stages of development of the Roman city from the first century B.C. untile late antiquity.

By creating an archaeological map implemented in a GIS, it was possible to understand the development guidelines that dictated the organization of the urban fabric of the ancient city, which occurred more  markedly especially during the first century A.C.: in early stages of this expansion, the northern slopes of the hill of San Giusto, the higher area which hosted the first plant of the city, have been affected by a specific urban planning that had two clear guidelines; this system was insomuch as solver to affect subsequent stages of urbanization, so as to be visible in the city today.

Similarly, the approaches to the city and the roads inside the city respected this project and, even today, is possible to pick up their tracks in many modern roads.

Between the III and the IV century A.D., the city suffered a substantial contraction, the construction of a new surrounding wall led to a new urban structure that partially influenced the city’s development in later periods and of which, once again, is possible to find several traces in the articulation of the modern city.

The huge development of the city from 1700 onwards, with the construction of new neighborhoods outside the historical center of Cittavecchia and San Giusto hill, has allowed the preservation of the ancient village and in some cases has respected the ancient access to the city which remained in use even in the medieval period.

Keywords: Archaeology, Topography, Trieste