If its origins are Irish, its “soul is in Trieste”. The phrase uttered by James Joyce has become so famous in this city where he lived for about ten years that he has dedicated an itinerary, next to a statue in the center, tracing the places he visited and that inspired his works , starting with “Dubliners” (“Dubliners”), who started writing Trieste and the “Ulysses” whose first three chapters were started right here.
And precisely in the year 2022 marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of “Ulysses”, which took place on 2/2/1922, one of the most important novels in literature of the 20th century, but also the 140th anniversary of the birth of Joyce in Dublin in the year 1882. The most important anniversary falls on June 16th, when Bloomsday is celebrated, in homage to the character of “Ulysses”, Leopold Bloom, and to the setting of the novel, which takes place over the course of a day, exactly on June 16th 1904. All Ireland, Trieste and the rest of the world celebrate on this day.
Bloomday in Trieste
Bloomsday in Trieste does not last just one day, but becomes a real celebration that lasts until June 19 and includes many events. On June 16th – the true Bloomsday – the events start at 8am and last until 3am. Events will be held at up to 15 different city center locations, chosen for their affinity and resemblance to the original Dublin locations.
We begin with Leopold Bloom’s beloved breakfast, to be taken with the actors directing the episode at the ancient lighthouse “La Lanterna”, a simulacrum of Sandycove’s Martello tower in the novel, illuminated for the occasion. the color of Ireland, as well as the statue of the writer on the Grand Canal near Piazza del Ponterosso, created by the Trieste sculptor Nino Spagnoli and placed on the bridge in 2004 to commemorate the centenary of Joyce’s arrival in Trieste.
The performances of the various chapters of the novel follow at intervals of one hour at the various locations in Trieste. The episode “Nausicaa” takes place in the evening at 20.00 on the most famous beach of Trieste, that of “Pedocin”, where the meeting of Ulysses / Leopold Bloom played by Sergio Rubini and Nausicaa / Gerty McDowell is brought to the stage by Maria Grazia Plos .
The “Circe” chapter is instead represented with a dance show at 11pm at La Scala in Piazza Cornelia Romana and at the Teatro dei Fabbri. Finally, the final episode “Penelope”, at 2 a.m. in the auditorium of the Revoltella Museum, is a monologue entrusted to Diana Höbel and Cosimo Miorelli’s electronic brushes.
The program will include itineraries between Joyces and literary sites, various food and wine events, book launches, documentaries and conferences throughout the weekend. But special walking routes in the footsteps of James Joyce will continue until January 2023 in the various places that the writer used to visit in the city, organized by PromoTurismoFVG Borgo Teresiano, one of his places of residence, the Joyce Museum which offers guided tours, the Greek Orthodox Church of S. Nicolò, the other streets where there are the numerous houses where he lived (nine in total) or the Cavana neighborhood , on which Joyce gladly participated and where there is an original way with writings by neon artists dedicated to James Joyce, which are part of the “Doublin” project, created in 2019 by the Cizerouno Cultural Association and the DMAV Social Art Ensemble and the “double” (“doubling” in English) the “red district” of Dublin, which overlays it on the night city of Trieste. “Ulysses” and “Doublin” are some of the visible writings. Recently added is “Montgomery Street,” the “Monto” described in the Ulysses episode “Circe.”
All visits start from the PromoTurismoFVG info point in Piazza Unità d’Italia, 4/b and cost 12 euros per person, while they are free with the FVGcard.
The Places of James Joyce in Trieste
It is always possible to visit Joyce’s Trieste, tracing the places that are so dear to him. Starting with the train station (The easiest and most comfortable way to get to Trieste is by train): it was from here on October 20, 1904 that James Joyce arrived in Trieste, who managed to be arrested a few minutes later (due to a misunderstanding) his poor companion Nora, who doesn’t speak a word of Italian or German and doesn’t have any money, makes him wait for him for hours in the small garden opposite.
In a letter to his friend Italo Svevo – who inspired him for the character Bloom – he defined the Grand Canal near the Piazza del Ponterosso, where the much-photographed statue of Joyce is located, as “the canal that comes from afar to marry the great star, Antonio Taumaturgo (i.e. the neoclassical church is at the bottom) and then changed his mind when he returns as he came”.
Joyce also attended the Greek Orthodox Church, which is still in Riva 3 Novembre 7 today, as among his students were some of the most important members of that community.
Between the must-see Greek Orthodox Church of San Nicolò and the famous Caffè Tommaseo, one of the historic Viennese-style cafés that Trieste is famous for, at number 32 Via San Nicolò is the “Berlitz School”, the language school for that Joyce worked. There’s still his antique shop with the same unchanging vibe. The nearby Caffè Stella Polare at Via Dante Alighieri 14 was frequented by Berlitz employees in Joyce’s time.
From the sacred to the profane. In the old town there was also the area of Trieste brothels, divided between the Jewish ghetto and the area near the sea known as Cavana: there were at least forty regularly registered brothels, where at least 250-300 prostitutes offered their services at any time. The tiny brothel that Joyce frequented was called The Cubic Meter and was located at 7 Via Pescheria.
A break must be taken in the Pirona pastry shop, which still exists today and is located in front of one of his houses, and which the writer often visited. Alternatively in “Il Trionfo”, the restaurant next doorArch of Riccardo, a Roman monument of the first century. AD, where Joyce liked to go and drink her favorite wine, the Apollo of Lissa.
In the central Piazza Verdi, the Verdi Theaterwhere Joyce attended many opera performances which he was enthusiastic about (in the Trieste period he also tried to pursue a career as a professional opera singer), often benefiting from free tickets provided by his friends to the local newspaper “Il Piccolo” with which he worked together.
If you want to know everything about the connection between Joyce and Trieste and about the life and work of the writer, you will find everything you can imagine in the Joyce Museum at 13 Via Madonna del Mare.
Of course Dublin also has itineraries dedicated to James Joyce, but this is a different trip (if you want to read it, find it here).
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