Blueing the Coastline. From Heavy Industry to Sport Tourism in the Years Following World War II: The Case of Trieste

Abstract

In recent decades, the coastline of Trieste has been subject to a radical blueing operation during which it has re-acquired its relationship with the sea. This characteristic was central to its identity since it was declared a free port in 1719, but from the end of the 19th century onwards, it was overshadowed by large-scale industrialization, the major examples of which were the Ironworks of Servola and the Aquilina Oil Refinery. These plants transformed the city’s identity into a centre for heavy industry but inevitably, in the post-war period, a slow but inexorable decline occurred, and they eventually closed.

Gradually, Trieste’s identity as an industrial town has changed, to be replaced with a blueing agenda whose most significant example is a massive sports tourism event, a sailing regatta called the Barcolana. Thanks to this event, Trieste is tracing a new path towards the future based on caring for the sea and protecting it.

The present article takes an ecocritical look at events and tries to account for the blueing agenda adopted by Trieste, by analysing both the known and unpublished visual documentation relating to the Ferriera, the Aquila Refinery and the Barcola Riviera.