by EH
As Cirque du Soleil prepares to take center stage in Trieste this week, the city’s Piazza della Libertà is once again in the spotlight — not only as a venue for international spectacle, but also as a reflection of the city’s evolving urban landscape.
The iconic Canadian troupe will debut its show in a tent set up just behind the Silos, bringing music, lights, and world-class performances to a square that, in recent months, has attracted a new wave of investment. Among the most anticipated openings is Prunus, a 1,000-square-meter Japanese restaurant slated to become the largest of its kind in the region. The restaurant adds to a series of high-profile developments in the area, including the restoration of the historic Palazzo Kalister, the modernization of the former Hotel Impero, and the opening of new hospitality venues like Befed.
These initiatives are part of a broader effort to revitalize a square long seen as one of the city’s key entry points. With its proximity to the Porto Vecchio redevelopment and availability of large commercial spaces, Piazza della Libertà is increasingly viewed as a strategic zone for urban growth.
Yet even as new lights shine on the square’s perimeter, a different reality persists at its center. In the early morning hours, sanitation workers clean the recently renovated green space near the statue of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, often clearing waste, food scraps, and human excrement. Warmer weather has brought a return of informal encampments, mostly involving migrants who use the square as a place to sleep and rest.
The juxtaposition underscores a tension familiar to many European cities: how to manage social vulnerability alongside urban renewal. While investment and cultural programming push the city forward, the enduring presence of homelessness and informal settlements reveals the limits of transformation without broader social policy.
