From the Roman ports of Aquileia and Tergeste to shipbuilding in Monfalcone, from ‘multicultural’ Trieste to the memories of the two World Wars in Gorizia, up to the history of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region: seven talks to span two millennia of transformations, frontiers and coexistence in the Venezia Giulia area.

These and related themes are at the centre of ‘Ports, Peoples and Societies in a Borderland’, a public seminar series promoted by the Department of Humanities (DiSU) at the University of Trieste and supported by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region. Opening on Wednesday 21st January, the series explores the history of Venezia Giulia through migrations, identities and memories.

The initiative is itinerant and will consist of six public talks, covering four cities in Friuli Venezia Giulia - Trieste, Gorizia, Grado and Ronchi dei Legionari – with the aim of engaging a broad audience in some key aspects of the long-term history of Venezia Giulia in our region. 

‘The six talks,’ explains Tullia Catalan, Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Trieste and project lead, ‘will bring together historians and specialists from different disciplines to discuss themes such as the port systems of the area from Roman origins to the present, the social, national and linguistic borders typical of a borderland, the memories of the two World Wars, and the economic transformations and migratory flows past and present.’

These are themes in which the University of Trieste is also engaged internationally through Transform4Europe, the European alliance of universities that UniTS helped found and which highlights the role of universities in borderlands.

Institutions in the region have actively contributed to the organisation of the talks. ‘Trieste, Grado, Ronchi and Gorizia offered to host and promote the events,’ notes Catalan, ‘a sign of the strong relationships that the University of Trieste has built over the years with the cultural institutions of the Venezia Giulia area.’

The concluding talk, dedicated to the creation and development of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, will take place in Trieste on 17th April 2026 and will be organised in collaboration with the Department of Humanities and Cultural Heritage at the University of Udine.

Programme

21st January at 16:30, Civico Museo Sartorio, Sala Costantinides (Largo Papa Giovanni XXIII, 1), Trieste
Discovering the ancient world: the Roman ports and peoples of Aquileia and Tergeste
with Fulvia Mainardis (UniTS), Emanuela Murgia (UniTS), Monica Chiabà (UniTS) and Tullia Catalan (UniTS)

The speakers will retrace the Roman origins of the two ports and their commercial role through the archaeological evidence of Trieste and Aquileia. They will discuss life in the two ports, maritime trade and the various peoples who passed through the region, bringing new languages, cultures and knowledge.

25th February at 16:30, Civico Museo Sartorio, Sala Costantinides (Largo Papa Giovanni XXIII, 1), Trieste
The rich and the poor in Trieste from the Middle Ages to the contemporary era
with Miriam Davide (UniTS), Andrea Scartabellati (independent researcher), Antonio Trampus (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice) and Tullia Catalan (UniTS)

Local society and its population will be examined across different periods through the lenses of social justice, philanthropy and charity, with attention to everyday life and the needs of a multi-ethnic and multi-religious population. The focus will also include key institutions such as the Istituto Generale dei Poveri, tracing its transformations from the Habsburg to the Fascist period and its current role within contemporary welfare.

4th March at 16:30, Consorzio Culturale del Monfalconese, Conference Room (Piazza Unità d’Italia, 24), Ronchi dei Legionari
Shipbuilding and the city: the Monfalcone shipyard from the nineteenth century to today
with Massimo Degrassi (UniTS), Giuseppe Grimaldi (UniTS), Giulio Mellinato (University of Milano-Bicocca) and Tullia Catalan (UniTS)

This talk retraces the relationship between the shipyard and the city from the Habsburg period to the present. Through labour history, the evolution of urban space linked to the shipyard and the history of migration, the speakers will trace the transformation of Monfalcone into a key contemporary site of global labour dynamics.

5th March at 16:30, Sala del Consiglio Comunale di Grado (Municipio, Piazza Biagio Marin, 4), Grado
Grado between Austria and Italy: the making of a seaside tourist resort
with Massimo Degrassi (UniTS), Luciano Cicogna (Municipality of Grado), Paride Camuffo (independent researcher) and Tullia Catalan (UniTS)

Grado’s attraction as a tourist destination dates back to the nineteenth century, when it became a seaside health resort and summer retreat for the Austrian bourgeoisie. This led to the architectural transformation of its urban spaces, the organisation of summer social life and, over time, to its development as a seaside destination to the present day. Grado therefore offers a contemporary example of sustainable tourism, grounded in its long-standing history as a holiday resort.

30th March at 16:30, Musei provinciali di Gorizia, Conference Room (Borgo Castello, 13), Gorizia
Monuments, museums and the memory of the two World Wars in Gorizia
with Massimo Baioni (University of Milan), Massimo Degrassi (UniTS), Alessandro Cattunar (Associazione Quarantasettezeroquattro) and Tullia Catalan (UniTS)

Gorizia was deeply scarred by the violence of the two World Wars, which left material and intangible traces of its past. Today the city is a symbol of the fruitful and peaceful relations between Italy and Slovenia, and the border has become a space of cultural crossings, also through the various museum exhibitions on both sides of the border. The talk will explore these themes through a range of perspectives.

1st April at 16:30, Civico Museo Sartorio, Sala Costantinides (Largo Papa Giovanni XXIII, 1), Trieste
Multicultural city, ‘quintessentially Italian’ city, city of science: Trieste between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
with Luca Giuseppe Manenti (Manlio Cecovini International Disclosure Society for Historical, Social and Ethical Studies), Tullia Catalan (UniTS), Elisabetta Vezzosi (UniTS) and Alessandro Carrieri (UniTS)

The great Habsburg port, crossroads of cultures and religions, underwent profound change after the World War I, with major population shifts driven by migration flows and a policy of mass nationalisation promoted by the Italian government of the time. For decades the border with eastern Europe became a wall, strongly opposing Slovenians and Italians. This tense climate persisted after the World War II and began to ease only in the 1960s and 1970s, thanks in part to the role of culture and science in the city, which acted as bridges to the East during the Cold War.

17th April at 16:30, FVG Region building, Tessitori multimedia room (Piazza Guglielmo Oberdan, 5), Trieste
Friuli Venezia Giulia 1963-2025: the creation and history of a special-statute region
with Raoul Pupo (UniTS), Igor Guardiancich (University of Padua), Patrick Karlsen (UniTS), Tullia Catalan (UniTS), Elena D’Orlando (University of Udine), Andrea Tilatti (University of Udine) and Andrea Zannini (University of Udine)

The concluding talk focuses on the creation and subsequent development of Friuli Venezia Giulia as a special-statute region, established by constitutional law on 31st January 1963. It will examine both the legal aspects of the region’s formation and the historical reasons underlying its establishment.