Trieste I
Neil Leadbeater
In the crook of Italy,
the coffee capital of Illy and Hausbrandt,
that dark rich brew of a city
huddled in a demitasse cup -
home of Italian ceramics,
Istrian truffles and old world grandeur,
Architecture comes with a mixed message:
Mitteleuropa with mansard windows
meets full-on Italian Liberty style
where a gale force katabatic wind
cups its resonance round open squares
fresh off the ridge of Europe.
A katabatic wind carries high-density air down from mountains. The Trieste wind is known as La Bora. It sweeps down from the Alps behind the city and can blow for a week at a time. The city has special rails in places for pedestrians to hold onto. ad special fittings on roofs to stop tiles from blowing off.
Poetry Atlas has many other poems about Italy.
