Chiesa Serbo Ortodossa di San Spiridione

The Serbian Orthodox Church of San Spiridione rises beside Trieste's Canal Grande with a central dome and four smaller domed towers. Carlo Maciachini's nineteenth-century design gives the Serbian community's history a distinctive architectural presence in Borgo Teresiano.

Why it matters

Greek and Serbian merchants shared the religious community authorised by Maria Theresa in 1751. Their separation in 1781 left San Spiridione to the Serbian congregation. The present church, built in the 1860s to replace the earlier temple, reflects the growth of that community within an international port.

What to notice

The Greek-cross plan, blue-grey domes and mosaic panels evoke Byzantine architectural traditions. Stone from the Karst and Istria is combined with Carrara and Verona marble. Interior paintings imitate mosaic, with Christ Pantocrator at the centre of the dome. Four Russian icons made between 1846 and 1850 retain gold and silver coverings. A silver lamp given by the future Tsar Paul I in 1782 recalls another link with the Orthodox world.

Context and history

Maciachini won the design competition of 1858, and engineer Pietro Palese directed construction. The building was finished in 1868 and blessed in 1869. Exterior mosaics completed in 1885 added a further phase to its richly decorated surfaces.