To deeply understand Trieste you have first to visit the hill of San Giusto, which offers a splendid view. The archaeological excavations (basilica, forum, access to sacred area, theater and Arco di Riccardo) witness the birth of “Tergeste” in Roman times, while the cathedral and the castle document the medieval splendor. With the proclamation of a free port (1719) Trieste begins a new season. The wealth of entrepreneurs, often foreigners, who elect Trieste as a second home transforms a dream in reality. The new bourgeoisie builts the palaces of the Teresian old town and Piazza Unità d’Italia, the magnificent Orthodox and Protestant churches, the synagogue, the wonderful neoclassical and eclectic private houses, such as the residence-museum of Pasquale Revoltella. However, "Trieste has a surly grace" - to quote the words of the poet Umberto Saba, his illustrious son - and, then, you should seek it in his coffee of historic charm, in the streets of the ghetto or in the Liberty architecture, following the footsteps of writers Umberto Saba, Italo Svevo and James Joyce. The visit to the San Sabba Risiera and foiba Basovizza allows, finally, to understand some aspects of the troubled history of the twentieth century, not only local.