Kat Smith, a seasoned traveller who has explored nearly every nook and cranny of Italy, has chosen an often overlooked destination as her home.

Having traveled the globe for the past 13 years, she has put down roots in various places for short stints before moving on. However, one location has truly captured this American globetrotter’s heart, where she has resided for the last two and a half years – a place that typically doesn’t garner much attention from tourists, although this seems to be shifting.

Trieste has seen its overnight stays more than double, soaring from approximately 700,000 in 2021 to 1.5 million in 2024. This significant surge is driven by an increasing number of tourists flocking to the city, compared to Rome’s 29 million overnight stays last year.

“I’ve traversed Italy extensively, visiting at least one new spot every month since I moved here in August 2023. Cities like Naples, Rome, and Venice have drawn me back time and again, but I always carve out time to discover a fresh corner of Italy. My travels have taken me from the southernmost point of Puglia to the northern border with Austria, making numerous stops throughout the country and even venturing to Sardinia,” Kat, co-founder of Mamma Mia Indeed, shared with the Mirror.

“One of my favourite cities is Trieste. Although it remains relatively unknown outside of Italy, Trieste is gradually emerging from its shell and receiving the recognition it deserves.”

Do you have a travel tale to tell? Email webtravel@reachplc.cpm

Here are some of the reasons why she’s so enamoured with this north-eastern coastal city.

It’s one of a kind

“From the architecture to the food and even the local dialect, Trieste is like nowhere else in Italy. Here, you’ll feel closer to Vienna than to Rome when wandering the streets, particularly in the centre around Piazza Unità or down grandiose Via Carducci. Sacher cakes sit in bakeries side-by-side with your typical croissants (called “brioche” here), and goulash often accompanies pasta on menus. Given the proximity to the border, road signs tend to be in both Italian and Slovenian, especially true as you explore the hillside surrounding the city centre.”

It boasts a strong sense of identity

“When speaking with locals, especially the older generation, they tend to stress that they’re Triestino first, Italian second, paying homage to those few years after WW2 that Trieste was actually independently recognised as the Free State of Trieste. While not all are itching for those days like some are, they’re proud of their unique culture. A short anecdote to emphasis this unique history comes from my neighbour, a man in his late 70s. All born in the same area we now know as Trieste, his parents were born under the Austro-Hungarian Empire, his parents-in-law in the Kingdom of Italy, him in the Free Territory of Trieste, and his wife in Italy. Although much of Italy shares a unique history and moments in time when it was independent, few have such drastic changes within the last 100 years.

“Trieste is a city that embraces the water, which is something I truly adore about residing here. Regardless of the time of year, you’ll see people drawn to the sea or the coast for the daily tradition of watching the sunset over the Adriatic. It seems as though everyone who resides here is attracted to the water in some way. Many of our neighbours have their own sailboats, and friends frequently invite us to stroll along Barcolana (Trieste’s “beach”) for an aperitivo. We’ve also begun rowing most mornings in the sea with a group of locals. The public transport even extends beyond the shore, with the ferry being the best mode of transport around the coastline and even across the bay in the summer. There’s nothing quite like swapping the bus for a boat, especially once you’ve had your first glimpse of Trieste from the water.”

It’s isolated

“Situated on the border with Slovenia, it’s just about as far away from the rest of Italy as you can get, with most towns in Slovenia and even northern Croatia a closer trip. The architecture looks more Austrian than Venetian or Roman, paying homage to the centuries spent as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Today it’s a coastal city bursting with a unique culture and plenty of places to catch the sunset over the Adriatic while you enjoy your aperitivo. In the summer, you can take the public ferry around the coast, visiting smaller towns and seeing the iconic Miramare Castle from the sea. The Osmiza culture comes alive in the summer and spring, with numerous farm-to-table “restaurants” opening their doors with fresh meats, cheeses, and wines. In the winter, the city’s main square, Piazza Unità, gets into the holiday spirit, filling itself with Christmas trees and lights.”