A town with an Istro-Venetian style

The boat ride to Muggia takes 30 minutes. You can go visit Muggia for a few hours and then return to Trieste. The Trieste-Muggia line is also very interesting because the ship runs through the port of Trieste.

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Muggia

On the last edge of Italy the coast seems to fold up. Here you will find the Bay of Muggia, the only Istrian town remained to Italy. Docking at the picturesque harbour, you will have the feeling to be entering the calli and the small squares. And you will immediately plunge into a charming Venetian atmosphere. Not only in the architecture: the dialect, the tradition and the culinary speciality  reveal a common past with the Serenissima Republic of Venice.

Looking at it from the sea, the white Istrian stones and the colourful houses create a harmonious context  with the green Karst environment. It is framed by seven kilometres of coast and a range of hills that dominate a wide area, both in Italy and in Istria.

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History

Before the year 1000 a small village, which was called Borgolauro, developed in the small harbour: the Municipality of Muggia was born in this new village in the thirteenth century. The cathedral and the town hall, re-built in the twentieth century, are of this age.

However, up on the plateau that dominates the harbour, there are remains of the proto-historic castellieri (fortified boroughs) of Santa Barbara and of Muggia Vecchia, with the Romaneque Basilica of Muggia Vecchia (9th century) that represents, together with the remains of the walls, of a Roman and medieval past the proof of  evidence of an even older history. From here you will enjoy a wonderful view over the Gulf of Trieste.

The Castle of Muggia, on the other hand, dates back to the fourteenth century, although it has been renovated several times over the centuries. It dominated the circle of walls around the town. A curious thing is that the inhabitants of Muggia took in the past little parts of the sandstone’s blocks  to build their houses.

Today, you will still breathe a special atmosphere in this town, while walking in the characteristic calli and in the wonderful Piazza Marconi, the town’s beating heart, or stopping at the Mandracchio to watch the fishermen at work.

And then you will find the comfortable and shadowy bathing establishments in Muggia and in the surroundings. The small harbour situated in the borough of San Bartolomeo is very charming.

Don’t miss the Carnival of Muggia or “Carneval de Muja“, with traditional Venetian origins and with influences from the Istrian peninsula: an amazing show that every year proposes Carnival floats and colourful masks. The parade takes place on Sunday with awards to the most beautiful and original company .

Source: www.turismofvg.it/en/muggia

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