Exhibition “The Imperial and Royal School for Infantry Cadets of Trieste. 1875-1907”

On Wednesday, September 10, 2025, at 5:00 PM, the Diego de Henriquez Civic War and Peace Museum on Via dei Tominz, 7 4 in Trieste will open the exhibition "The Imperial and Royal Infantry Cadet School of Trieste. 1875-1907," created in collaboration with the F. Zenobi Cultural Association and curated by Roberto Todero.
From September 11 to November 16, 2025, in the Temporary Exhibition Hall on the first floor of the Museum, objects, images, and various testimonies will recall the history of the "Imperial and Royal Infantry Cadet School of Trieste" on the 150th anniversary of its establishment. The school, which remained active until 1907, was comparable to a secondary school, sharing much of its curriculum, supplemented by core military-related subjects such as service exercises and regulations, military administration, weapons and shooting, fencing, training, topography and terrain surveys, the Croatian, German, French, and Slovenian languages, formal communication, technical instruction, health education, dance, music, and several others. Any young person who had reached the age of fourteen and had completed an appropriate education could apply for admission. Most of the costs were borne by the state, while families were required to pay an annual tuition fee. The cadets, or Zöglinge, wore the infantry uniform, with the dark red insignia of the Kaiser Franz Josef Regiment No. 1. As Gustav Bancalari and Franz Rieger write: "The budding youth proudly wears the soldier's garb. It is not only in outward appearance that the young men of the cadet schools resemble the soldiers of the forces for which they were trained; in their hearts too there is the same love for the emperor and for the common homeland that animates, excites, and enthuses the trained soldiers." Once graduates completed their normal military service as Cadet-Officiersstellvertreter, they could apply to take the exam to become professional officers. In addition to providing insights into school life, the exhibition will provide an opportunity to explore some of the rooms of what was once the famous "Caserma Grande," spaces overlooking Via del Coroneo, such as classrooms for the instruction of the students and outdoor spaces. This initiative builds on the 2023 one, when, again in collaboration with the F. Zenobi Cultural Association, attention was focused on the 97th Regiment, the last imperial and royal regiment in Trieste and the coast between the 19th and 20th centuries. This is a way, therefore, to continue to restore some important pieces of its history to the city.

The exhibition is accessible with the Museum ticket.
For information: Civic War Museum for Peace "Diego de Henriquez", Via dei Tominz, 4 – Trieste Tel. 040 6754699 Email: museodehenriquez@comune.trieste.it