The secrets of the Triestine Karst

Slow Tour

8 May 2018

Slow Tour

The secrets of the Triestine Karst

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes”, Proust claimed, and this is precisely what happens when almost by accident one comes across places, the existence of which one does not even imagine, places that preserve secrets and are full of history, in the city of Trieste. The journey in time starts from a path that starts in the car park lot at the Opicina crossroads, continuing for a hundred metres and skirting the ruins of the Obelisco hotel, to reach the entrance to the first bunker, also called the H-shaped bunker. In front of the entrance in the rock, we stopped to listen to an interesting historical introduction by Fabio of the gruppo escursionisti triestini, who is responsible for organising history, nature and culture excursions in the Triestine and Slovenian Karst. During his account, facts and episodes emerge of the historical period between 1943 and 1945, in particular the part concerning the battle of Opicina; intense, violent events, stories of vengeance and blood, but also stories of humanity that struck everyone without distinction: the Italian, German, Yugoslav, Anglo-American front. Fabio’s story is engaging and never predictable; he himself admits that this is his great passion and he tries to research it further, seeing out remaining evidence and the accounts, in order to establish the reality of the facts, which is often obscured or doctored. The story sometimes takes on a funny tones in his reconstruction and even the smallest explorers present seem to appreciate it as they wait to enter the bunker. Here, equipped with torch and trekking shoes, we enter the total darkness and continue in the two corridors, the rocky walls shining under the beams of lights. At the end, a glimpse awaits us, the bunker’s exit: the view is breathtaking: here there is a natural terrace overlooking the Gulf of Trieste, offering a strategic position during the war. The visit then continues with the visit of the second bunker, which housed a generator, its task being to provide energy for the area. This second bunker still retains the spaces in which the soldiers and the guards used to shelter. Outside, the tour continues through the forest path to the former German cemetery, used in those years, which still preserves the original altar and the wall. The itinerary ends on the path that leads to the Opicina Obelisk, with a viewpoint overlooking the Gulf of Trieste. The visit is an interesting itinerary that draws in the visitor totally and offers new cognitive stimuli, but I will not tell you more, because I want to leave you the opportunity to discover the other secrets that the bunkers of Opicina preserve.

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Martina Trombetta

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Since I believe images are equally important in communication, I decided to broaden my knowledge of photography by doing numerous courses and workshops. I also work for companies and individuals as a freelance graphic artist and web designer.