Parco della Villa Revoltella

On the Colle del Cacciatore above Trieste, Baron Pasquale Revoltella created a landscaped garden that later passed into public care under the terms of his bequest. Its English-style grounds combine terraces, historic buildings and views across the Gulf of Trieste.

Why it matters

Between 1856 and 1869, Revoltella acquired parcels on the hill and developed the garden with an irrigation system, a spring-fed pond and winding paths. By 1860 the grounds included a chalet, a church, stables and glass-and-iron greenhouses. The garden's history as a private estate later transferred to public use makes it an important part of Trieste's civic landscape.

What to notice

The neo-Romanesque church of San Pasquale Baylon, built in 1867, contains the baron's and his mother Domenica's sarcophagi in its crypt. The 1860 chalet, the former greenhouse and a gloriette dating to 1819 mark different phases in the park's history. The planting combines naturalistic English-style areas with terraces and an Italian-style parterre. Notable trees include Himalayan cedars, Arizona cypresses, holm oaks, black pines and yews. Later features include the monumental staircase, the Pinocchio fountain by Nino Spagnoli, a grotto and a terrace with statues of the four seasons.

Context and history

Revoltella's bequest required that the grounds remain public and unchanged. The park passed into public care in 1871, two years after his death. The neighbouring Farneto woods had been given to the city by Ferdinand of Austria in 1844, extending the tradition of endowed green spaces on the hill. A monument near the park commemorates Italians killed at Nassiriya in 2003.