Curiosities and traditions of St Giusto

On Sunday, November 3, Trieste celebrates its patron saint, San Giusto. The first curiosity linked to this celebration is that the saint’s day is actually November 2, despite the fact that religious celebrations and all the profane customs connected to the day in Trieste are traditionally moved to the following day; there are several possible explanations behind the date’s move: among the many, on the one hand, the fact that November 2 is already the commemoration of the dead, on the other, the fact that in 1918, on November 3, the torpedo boat Audace docked in Trieste, an event symbolic of the passage (temporary, at the time) of the city to Italy that made the date particularly significant.

Giusto, a Roman soldier who converted to Christianity, lived in Aquileia in Roman times during the reign of Diocletian and Maxentius. The legend of his martyrdom links the saint to the city of Trieste, since according to tradition he was condemned to drowning in the sea and his body was found on the current Grumula shore.

The cathedral dedicated to the saint is located on the St Giusto hill, where it stands in the appearance it assumed during the 14th century, the result of the union of two pre-existing churches and the reuse of some Roman remains; it is precisely from this complex genesis that the asymmetry of the façade with the rose window derives.

Another curiosity linked to the cathedral is that the iron chandelier in the central nave is a gift from Maximilian of Habsburg, who shortly after left for Mexico.