The historic cafés of Trieste.

Italy’s capital of coffee

Trieste is Italy’s capital of coffee, and not just as a figure of speech: some of the country’s most important roasters are based here (Illy chief among them), and the city has a vocabulary all its own for ordering it: a "capo in b" is a macchiato in a glass, a "nero" is a classic espresso. It’s a direct legacy of the literary cafés of the Habsburg era, when Trieste was the Empire’s port and its cafés the drawing room of writers, merchants and revolutionaries.

Caffè San Marco

Opened in 1914, it’s probably the historic café most loved by Triestines themselves: not just by tourists. Mirrors, dark wood, a literary atmosphere that needs no recreating: it was already there, frequented by writers like Svevo and Joyce.

Caffè degli Specchi

On the same Piazza Unità d’Italia, with tables facing the sea: probably the café with the most scenic view in the city, open since 1839.

Caffè Tommaseo

Trieste’s oldest café still in operation, dating to 1830. Original period furnishings, an atmosphere suspended in time just steps from the Grand Canal.

The Illy tradition, at home

In our apartments The Architect and The Collector you’ll find an Illy X7.1 Iperespresso machine, designed by Trieste-born architect Luca Trazzi: the same bond between the city and its coffee, brought inside the home. The capsules are sold just around the corner, in the same Illy shops downtown.

How to live the experience

A practical tip: coffee is drunk at the counter, standing up, the way Triestines do it: it costs less and feels more authentic. The tables in the historic cafés are for lingering, maybe with a book, watching the square or the canal.