Port of Trieste
Encyclopedia
The Free Port of Trieste, is an Italian
port on North Adriatic Sea
in Trieste
, Italy
.
It is subdivided into 5 different Free Areas, 3 of which have been allotted to commercial activities:
The remaining two, i.e. the Mineral Oils Free Area and the “Canale di Zaule” Free Area, are used for industrial activities.
It is articulated in various terminals, managed by private companies.
Under free port regulations goods reaching the port by land from Italy
or the EU are considered definitively exported, and goods of foreign origin arriving by land are considered foreign goods in transit.
Goods arriving from abroad by sea may transit freely and be sent to their foreign destinations. By virtue of exclusive regulations on customs credits, customs duties on goods destined for import may be paid after 6 months at reduced annual interest rates. The port's special extra-customs status also allows commercial operations to be carried out on goods deposited under the foreign regimen.
Repackaging, labelling, industrial processing etc. are also possible under the same terms. Besides being the responsibility of the Port Authority (a publicly-run body) management of the port's warehouses is also conducted by many private companies - forwarding companies or port terminal operators - working in complete autonomy within the Port Authority regulations.
was mainly an emporium and was given the status of Free Port by Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
in 1719. In 1740, when Empress Maria Theresa of Austria
took power, one of the first measures she adopted was to extend the borders of the Free Port area to the periphery of the town, thereby merging together the emporium, the port, the new city and the old one.
The Empress decided to extend the exemptions from customs duties to the whole city, which attracted many people from different countries and all walks of life (Italians
, Serbians
, Slovenians
, Croats
, Jews
and Greeks
): for them a law was passed, the "Editto di tolleranza", which provided for the freedom of worship, the possibility to negotiate freely and to own goods. It appeared that it was necessary to enlarge the port infrastructure and the railway network. In 1857 the Südbahn (Southern) Railway line became operational along the northeastern route: Trieste
, Postojna
, Ljubljana
, Graz
, Vienna
, with further links to Budapest
and the Balkans
. The railway element was central in the design of the port structures.
In Trieste
it was the Lagerhäuser system of Northern European ports that was used as a model. A French engineer, Paul Talbot, signed the project.
1868 marks the beginning of Trieste
as a commercial port whose infrastructures were to be developed in four different periods.
To tackle the competition of Northern ports, which had been able to attract trade because of the lack of railway connections with Trieste
, and to adjust to the needs of non-European maritime transport, which was to increase after the opening of the Suez Canal
in 1869 - with the consequent shortening of the distance separating Trieste
from Mumbai
by 7,500 miles - in 1868 the construction of the current Porto Vecchio (the Old Port, at the time called Porto Nuovo, the New Port) was started. The Northern part of the port was built between 1868 and 1883 together with the outer breakwater and other sea infrastructures.
On December 22, 1871 the new monthly service linking Trieste
with Mumbai
was established. In 1874 a contract was signed with the Südbahn for the development of the port and in 1879 the Magazzini Generali (the warehouses) were erected. In the same year the Pontebbana railway line was officially opened connecting Trieste
, Udine
, Pontebba
, Villach
, Salzburg
and Munich
.
In 1891 the port became a free port and was separated from the rest of the town by an enclosure. The status of free port, which had been previously extended to the whole city, was now being limited to this area, while the city became physically separated from it.
In the period between 1901 and 1914 the works began to enlarge the Rive area (the embankment), to build the Bersaglieri Wharf, the Scalo Legnami (the timber pier) and S. Andrea port (piers V and VI).
The fourth period, between 1924 and 1936, is characterised by the realisation of major public works, which were to complete the sea infrastructures, the port equipment on piers V and VI, the Silo, the Stazione Marittima (the passenger station), and the Idroscalo (the air harbour).
After reconstructing the buildings damaged by the bombings of the Second World War
, an innovative port reorganisation was started in line with the needs of the containerisation and the new transport systems.
and restricted in 1891, this special status has been confirmed by subsequent peace treaties, by the European Community and by the Italian Parliament
. Most port land is subject to this rule and therefore lies outside the jurisdiction of European Union Customs.
Five Free Port Zones are defined as follows:
The Old Free Port, the most ancient complex of facilities, was designed by Paul Talabot and built between 1868 and 1883 according to a port and railway development plan aimed at consolidating the role of Trieste
as a trading centre for all territories under Austro-Hungarian rule. Today it is considered a key component of Trieste
's cultural heritage and a large-scale project has been conceived for its revitalisation. A modern multipurpose terminal, the Adria Terminal, has recently been created alongside the older installations.
The New Free Port is the result of a project begun in the early 20th century in response to the growth of trade with the Middle East and Far East created by the opening of the Suez Canal
. Completed to a large extent in the 1920s and 1930s, it has been further extended since the 1960s with the development of a container terminal at Pier
7 and a ro-ro/ferry
terminal at Riva Traiana. The remaining Free Zones include - in addition to the timber and oil terminals - part of the Zaule industrial canal, which serves the (EZIT) Industrial District, established after the Second World War.
in 1885.
Together with Hamburg
, Buenos Aires
, Calcutta and Genoa
, Trieste
was one of the first ports in the world to be equipped with a hydrodynamic plant.
The building is located behind the pier and is characterised by a high brick smokestack and two square towers at the sides of the main facade.
The plant, which ceased to be used in 1983, took the water from the water system and supplied energy to the different points of consumption. It was, therefore, a centralised energy generator, which operated the quay cranes, the external cranes and the internal hoists of the port warehouses.
A series of Cornish two fire-tube boilers, with a 2,10m diameter and a 10m length, built by St. Jashka & Sohn from Vienna, produced steam with a pressure of 7 atmospheres. The steam was delivered to four main machines and an auxiliary one, all manufactured by Machinenbau Aktien Gesellschaft vormals Breitfeld, Danek & Com. Prag-Karolinenthal.
The main machines had a higher motive part and a lower operating one. The motive part - a steam double expansion 25 HP machine - had a central high pressure cylinder with a 450mm diameter and two lateral low pressure ones with a 600 mm diameter. A system of crankshaft rods ensured the correct timing of the three cylinders. Pressure was kept constant by means of hydraulic accumulators. Two of them were located in the towers of the plant and one was situated in the tower near the port gates, in a more central position.
Pressurised water was distributed along the port main axis through a 6,8 km long system of cast-iron pipes, installed in underground passages that could be inspected. The main pipeline branched out into secondary pipes connected to the individual points of consumption. In the years between 1920 and 1939 the plant operated 83 quay cranes, 31 external cranes for the warehouses and 57 hoists.
The hydrodynamic plant - a rare example of machines that worked for more than a century - is located in a Rundbogenstil
building, an architectural style that was a German version of Romanesque, very popular at the time.
The plant and the building are a great example of industrial architecture, a heritage of inestimable value that testifies to the great tradition of the port of Trieste.
The "capannoni", the oldest buildings of the port, were erected after the model of the Lagerhäuser, a word which refers to those parts of a city that are used for goods handling and include warehouses for the storage and stocking of goods, from their arrival in port to their shipment and distribution.
The port system visually links Miramare
Castle, Barcola
and San Giusto Castle and follows three directions: a central one, connecting the port with the city, a second one, corresponding to the piers, and a third one, adjacent to the railway.
The classification of warehouses and hangars (initially 38 main bodies) comprises three groups of buildings:
The warehouses were initially equipped with cranes, elevators, hoists and other lifting equipment, which were used for goods loading and unloading and were hydraulically operated. The buildings of the first and second groups have a perron (a raised platform, about 1 meter high, used to perform loading and unloading operations with railway cars), while those of the third group, erected in more recent years (at the beginning of 1900), show entrance doors at ground level as well.
The architectural features of these monumental buildings lie in the vertical and horizontal lines along the facades, in the geometric definition of the basements, the doors, the windows and all the elements of the architectonic language of this complex.
Along the facade, the horizontal lines (the stringcourses, for instance) give the buildings a longitudinal appearance, while the vertical lines (pilaster strips and avant-corpses) create interruptions. Through the harmonisation of the lines, the structural elements take up an architectural character. The main body of the facades, from the base to the superstructure, shows unity and dimensional value.
At the time of the construction, decorating was achieved through the use of different finishing materials and the work of master decorators and stone-dressers. Cornices, modillions, capitals, basements, windowsills and avant-corpses made of different materials produce a suggestive effect, which is enhanced by the materials' natural colours creating a uniform chromatic impression.
Grey cast-iron mullions are a distinctive feature of hangars' ground floors.
Each building is an example of the technical architecture at the end of the 19th century, a period of transition for the construction principles and configuration of maritime structures, which were adjusting to a defensive function and to the new trend of equipment mechanisation.
Since 1972 Porto Vecchio has gradually lost its function, that has been taken up by the new infrastructures built in the southern part of the city. They will be further enlarged and will host the activities now carried out at Porto Vecchio.
The Trieste Port Authority is deeply involved in the restoration and rehabilitation intervention in Porto Vecchio. Porto Vecchio will therefore become a new district within the city, a district mainly devoted to port activities, sailing and yachting, cruise industry, exhibitions and services. The historical warehouses will host new activities and their historical identity will be enhanced by the new functions they will play: they will be turned into specialisation schools for the various professions of the maritime sector, academic centres of excellence as well as conference, cultural and arts centres.
Because of the extraordinary length of the building - which reminds us of the speicher in Bremen - the design included two main stairs leading to the higher floors seven elevators, eight lifts and two internal hatchways connected with the cellar.
The archivolt interrupts the monotonous shape of the windows, while the design of the main facade is consistent with the other buildings.
The turrets above the finishing cornices, the richly decorated mansards and the clock tower enhance the sumptuousness of this warehouse.
The rows of cast-iron mullions and the avant-corpses give the whole building an extraordinary perspective.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
port on North Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
in Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
It is subdivided into 5 different Free Areas, 3 of which have been allotted to commercial activities:
- the Old Free Area (Porto Vecchio)
- the New Free Area (Porto Nuovo)
- the TimberLumberLumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
Terminal
The remaining two, i.e. the Mineral Oils Free Area and the “Canale di Zaule” Free Area, are used for industrial activities.
It is articulated in various terminals, managed by private companies.
Under free port regulations goods reaching the port by land from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
or the EU are considered definitively exported, and goods of foreign origin arriving by land are considered foreign goods in transit.
Goods arriving from abroad by sea may transit freely and be sent to their foreign destinations. By virtue of exclusive regulations on customs credits, customs duties on goods destined for import may be paid after 6 months at reduced annual interest rates. The port's special extra-customs status also allows commercial operations to be carried out on goods deposited under the foreign regimen.
Repackaging, labelling, industrial processing etc. are also possible under the same terms. Besides being the responsibility of the Port Authority (a publicly-run body) management of the port's warehouses is also conducted by many private companies - forwarding companies or port terminal operators - working in complete autonomy within the Port Authority regulations.
History
In the period between the beginning of 1700 and 1850, TriesteTrieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
was mainly an emporium and was given the status of Free Port by Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI was the penultimate Habsburg sovereign of the Habsburg Empire. He succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia , Hungary and Croatia , Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711...
in 1719. In 1740, when Empress Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
took power, one of the first measures she adopted was to extend the borders of the Free Port area to the periphery of the town, thereby merging together the emporium, the port, the new city and the old one.
The Empress decided to extend the exemptions from customs duties to the whole city, which attracted many people from different countries and all walks of life (Italians
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
, Serbians
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
, Slovenians
Slovenians
The Slovenes, Slovene people, Slovenians, or Slovenian people are a South Slavic people primarily associated with Slovenia and the Slovene language.-Population:Most Slovenes today live within the borders of the independent Slovenia...
, Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
, Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
and Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
): for them a law was passed, the "Editto di tolleranza", which provided for the freedom of worship, the possibility to negotiate freely and to own goods. It appeared that it was necessary to enlarge the port infrastructure and the railway network. In 1857 the Südbahn (Southern) Railway line became operational along the northeastern route: Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
, Postojna
Postojna
Postojna is a town and a municipality in the traditional region of Inner Carniola, from Trieste, in southwestern Slovenia. Population 14,581 .-History:...
, Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, with further links to Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
and the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
. The railway element was central in the design of the port structures.
In Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
it was the Lagerhäuser system of Northern European ports that was used as a model. A French engineer, Paul Talbot, signed the project.
1868 marks the beginning of Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
as a commercial port whose infrastructures were to be developed in four different periods.
To tackle the competition of Northern ports, which had been able to attract trade because of the lack of railway connections with Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
, and to adjust to the needs of non-European maritime transport, which was to increase after the opening of the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
in 1869 - with the consequent shortening of the distance separating Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
from Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
by 7,500 miles - in 1868 the construction of the current Porto Vecchio (the Old Port, at the time called Porto Nuovo, the New Port) was started. The Northern part of the port was built between 1868 and 1883 together with the outer breakwater and other sea infrastructures.
On December 22, 1871 the new monthly service linking Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
with Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
was established. In 1874 a contract was signed with the Südbahn for the development of the port and in 1879 the Magazzini Generali (the warehouses) were erected. In the same year the Pontebbana railway line was officially opened connecting Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
, Udine
Udine
Udine is a city and comune in northeastern Italy, in the middle of Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic sea and the Alps , less than 40 km from the Slovenian border. Its population was 99,439 in 2009, and that of its urban area was 175,000.- History :Udine is the historical...
, Pontebba
Pontebba
Pontebba is a comune in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located about 100 km northwest of Trieste and about 50 km north of Udine, on the border with Austria...
, Villach
Villach
Villach is the second largest city in the Carinthia state in the southern Austria, at the Drava River and represents an important traffic junction for Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 58,480.-History:...
, Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
and Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
.
In 1891 the port became a free port and was separated from the rest of the town by an enclosure. The status of free port, which had been previously extended to the whole city, was now being limited to this area, while the city became physically separated from it.
In the period between 1901 and 1914 the works began to enlarge the Rive area (the embankment), to build the Bersaglieri Wharf, the Scalo Legnami (the timber pier) and S. Andrea port (piers V and VI).
The fourth period, between 1924 and 1936, is characterised by the realisation of major public works, which were to complete the sea infrastructures, the port equipment on piers V and VI, the Silo, the Stazione Marittima (the passenger station), and the Idroscalo (the air harbour).
After reconstructing the buildings damaged by the bombings of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, an innovative port reorganisation was started in line with the needs of the containerisation and the new transport systems.
The Free Port
The status of the Free Port Zones has remained a distinctive feature of the Port of Trieste throughout its history. Granted in 1719 by the Habsburg MonarchyHabsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
and restricted in 1891, this special status has been confirmed by subsequent peace treaties, by the European Community and by the Italian Parliament
Parliament of Italy
The Parliament of Italy is the national parliament of Italy. It is a bicameral legislature with 945 elected members . The Chamber of Deputies, with 630 members is the lower house. The Senate of the Republic is the upper house and has 315 members .Since 2005, a party list electoral law is being...
. Most port land is subject to this rule and therefore lies outside the jurisdiction of European Union Customs.
Five Free Port Zones are defined as follows:
- Old Free Zone
- New Free Zone
- Timber Terminal Free Zone
- Mineral Oil Free Zone
- Industrial Free Zone
The Old Free Port, the most ancient complex of facilities, was designed by Paul Talabot and built between 1868 and 1883 according to a port and railway development plan aimed at consolidating the role of Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
as a trading centre for all territories under Austro-Hungarian rule. Today it is considered a key component of Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
's cultural heritage and a large-scale project has been conceived for its revitalisation. A modern multipurpose terminal, the Adria Terminal, has recently been created alongside the older installations.
The New Free Port is the result of a project begun in the early 20th century in response to the growth of trade with the Middle East and Far East created by the opening of the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
. Completed to a large extent in the 1920s and 1930s, it has been further extended since the 1960s with the development of a container terminal at Pier
Pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
7 and a ro-ro/ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
terminal at Riva Traiana. The remaining Free Zones include - in addition to the timber and oil terminals - part of the Zaule industrial canal, which serves the (EZIT) Industrial District, established after the Second World War.
The Hydrodynamic Plant
The hydrodynamic plant, built in 1890, is a masterpiece of industrial archaeology. The first alternators were indeed exhibited at the Paris Exhibition in 1881, while the first electric motor was invented by Galileo FerrarisGalileo Ferraris
Galileo Ferraris was an Italian physicist and electrical engineer, noted mostly for the studies and independent discovery of the rotating magnetic field, a basic working principle of the induction motor...
in 1885.
Together with Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Calcutta and Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
was one of the first ports in the world to be equipped with a hydrodynamic plant.
The building is located behind the pier and is characterised by a high brick smokestack and two square towers at the sides of the main facade.
The plant, which ceased to be used in 1983, took the water from the water system and supplied energy to the different points of consumption. It was, therefore, a centralised energy generator, which operated the quay cranes, the external cranes and the internal hoists of the port warehouses.
A series of Cornish two fire-tube boilers, with a 2,10m diameter and a 10m length, built by St. Jashka & Sohn from Vienna, produced steam with a pressure of 7 atmospheres. The steam was delivered to four main machines and an auxiliary one, all manufactured by Machinenbau Aktien Gesellschaft vormals Breitfeld, Danek & Com. Prag-Karolinenthal.
The main machines had a higher motive part and a lower operating one. The motive part - a steam double expansion 25 HP machine - had a central high pressure cylinder with a 450mm diameter and two lateral low pressure ones with a 600 mm diameter. A system of crankshaft rods ensured the correct timing of the three cylinders. Pressure was kept constant by means of hydraulic accumulators. Two of them were located in the towers of the plant and one was situated in the tower near the port gates, in a more central position.
Pressurised water was distributed along the port main axis through a 6,8 km long system of cast-iron pipes, installed in underground passages that could be inspected. The main pipeline branched out into secondary pipes connected to the individual points of consumption. In the years between 1920 and 1939 the plant operated 83 quay cranes, 31 external cranes for the warehouses and 57 hoists.
The hydrodynamic plant - a rare example of machines that worked for more than a century - is located in a Rundbogenstil
Rundbogenstil
Rundbogenstil , one of the nineteenth-century historic revival styles of architecture, is a variety of Romanesque revival popular in the German-speaking lands and the German diaspora....
building, an architectural style that was a German version of Romanesque, very popular at the time.
The plant and the building are a great example of industrial architecture, a heritage of inestimable value that testifies to the great tradition of the port of Trieste.
The Porto Vecchio
The link between city and port, tied together within a single process of urban and historical development, becomes evident in the Porto Vecchio area, with an architectural heritage of great historical and artistic value. Porto Vecchio, located in the heart of the city, covers an area of about 600,000 sq.m. and represents a jewel to be relaunched through the identification of new functions.The "capannoni", the oldest buildings of the port, were erected after the model of the Lagerhäuser, a word which refers to those parts of a city that are used for goods handling and include warehouses for the storage and stocking of goods, from their arrival in port to their shipment and distribution.
The port system visually links Miramare
Miramare
The Miramare Castle is a 19th century castle on the Gulf of Trieste near Trieste, northeastern Italy. It was built from 1856 to 1860 for Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian and his wife, Charlotte of Belgium, later Emperor Maximilian I and Empress Carlota of Mexico, to a design by Carl...
Castle, Barcola
Barcola
Barcola is a seaside neighbourhood of Trieste, Italy. To go to Barcola from the centre of town take "viale Miramare" going in the direction of Venezia. Barcola is about 3 km from the train station...
and San Giusto Castle and follows three directions: a central one, connecting the port with the city, a second one, corresponding to the piers, and a third one, adjacent to the railway.
The classification of warehouses and hangars (initially 38 main bodies) comprises three groups of buildings:
- one-storey above-ground buildings
- two or three-storey above-ground buildings, with cellars and garrets, with galleries that link the avant-corpses and are supported by cast-iron mullions
- four-storey above-ground buildings, with cellars, ground floors and four higher floors with galleries
The warehouses were initially equipped with cranes, elevators, hoists and other lifting equipment, which were used for goods loading and unloading and were hydraulically operated. The buildings of the first and second groups have a perron (a raised platform, about 1 meter high, used to perform loading and unloading operations with railway cars), while those of the third group, erected in more recent years (at the beginning of 1900), show entrance doors at ground level as well.
The architectural features of these monumental buildings lie in the vertical and horizontal lines along the facades, in the geometric definition of the basements, the doors, the windows and all the elements of the architectonic language of this complex.
Along the facade, the horizontal lines (the stringcourses, for instance) give the buildings a longitudinal appearance, while the vertical lines (pilaster strips and avant-corpses) create interruptions. Through the harmonisation of the lines, the structural elements take up an architectural character. The main body of the facades, from the base to the superstructure, shows unity and dimensional value.
At the time of the construction, decorating was achieved through the use of different finishing materials and the work of master decorators and stone-dressers. Cornices, modillions, capitals, basements, windowsills and avant-corpses made of different materials produce a suggestive effect, which is enhanced by the materials' natural colours creating a uniform chromatic impression.
Grey cast-iron mullions are a distinctive feature of hangars' ground floors.
Each building is an example of the technical architecture at the end of the 19th century, a period of transition for the construction principles and configuration of maritime structures, which were adjusting to a defensive function and to the new trend of equipment mechanisation.
The renewal of Porto Vecchio
The area of Porto Vecchio is an opportunity for the economic relaunching of the port and the city, for it is a development centre with a maritime vocation, but also with urban significance. Today the choice of Trieste, in line with that of the major world ports, is to privilege also those activities that are indirectly related to its port.Since 1972 Porto Vecchio has gradually lost its function, that has been taken up by the new infrastructures built in the southern part of the city. They will be further enlarged and will host the activities now carried out at Porto Vecchio.
The Trieste Port Authority is deeply involved in the restoration and rehabilitation intervention in Porto Vecchio. Porto Vecchio will therefore become a new district within the city, a district mainly devoted to port activities, sailing and yachting, cruise industry, exhibitions and services. The historical warehouses will host new activities and their historical identity will be enhanced by the new functions they will play: they will be turned into specialisation schools for the various professions of the maritime sector, academic centres of excellence as well as conference, cultural and arts centres.
Warehouse 26
Warehouse 26, a monumental building, covers an area of 9,000 sq.m., with a face of about 244m, an underground floor used as a cellar, a ground floor, three higher floors and a garret. It was completed in 1893.Because of the extraordinary length of the building - which reminds us of the speicher in Bremen - the design included two main stairs leading to the higher floors seven elevators, eight lifts and two internal hatchways connected with the cellar.
The archivolt interrupts the monotonous shape of the windows, while the design of the main facade is consistent with the other buildings.
The turrets above the finishing cornices, the richly decorated mansards and the clock tower enhance the sumptuousness of this warehouse.
The rows of cast-iron mullions and the avant-corpses give the whole building an extraordinary perspective.