by Nina Vaclavikova
Interviews: Giorgio Rossi, Daniele Fior -an actor, the Italian voice of the guide, Carlo Zoratti – a film director, the art creator of the guide
Visitors to the Castello di San Giusto can now explore the city’s most visited civic museum with the help of a new multilingual digital audio guide, launched this week in a project supported by the city of Trieste, the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, and the European Union.
The initiative, presented Thursday at the Bastione Rotondo, combines technology, historical research, and professional narration. Among the contributors is Daniele Fior, an actor and director who also serves as the official Italian voice of the Louvre Museum in Paris.
“This project is an example of digital innovation serving one of Trieste’s most important cultural landmarks,” said Giorgio Rossi, the city councillor for culture and tourism. Rossi noted that the castle attracts more than 140,000 visitors annually, placing it on par with the Museo Storico and the grounds of the Castello di Miramare.
The new tool is part of a broader project titled La Città nel Castello (“The City in the Castle”), which will also include an interactive multimedia station on the evolution of San Giusto Hill and a digital installation for deeper exploration of Trieste’s history. The initiative is co-financed through the European Regional Development Fund.
Accessible via smartphone, tablet, or through a dedicated app, the audioguide can be activated by scanning color-coded QR codes placed throughout the castle’s grounds and exhibition spaces. Content is currently available in Italian, English, and German, with Slovenian planned for future inclusion.
The audioguide offers several paths. The main route, marked in blue, is a 60-minute tour of the castle’s interior and exterior spaces, including the courtyard, ramparts, armory, and lapidarium. A green path, designed for children ages 6 to 10, blends storytelling and interactive sounds in a shorter 25-minute format. A red path provides a panoramic tour of the walls and bastions, while shorter thematic segments, marked in brown, highlight specific features such as the automaton clock figures Michez and Jachez or the sweeping views from the Bastione Rotondo.
Attention was given to clarity of language and accessibility, ensuring that the material is suitable for a wide audience, from school-age visitors to international tourists. Transcriptions of museum panels are also included, with German translations provided through a local student project.
The work brought together a wide network of collaborators. Art historian Anna Krekic, curator of the castle, oversaw the project, with scientific consultation from Marzia Vidulli Torlo, former curator of Trieste’s Winckelmann Museum. The technical development was led by Mobile 3D, an Italian firm specializing in museum technology, while creative direction came from filmmaker and director Carlo Zoratti.
The voices of the guide represent a blend of international talent: Fior in Italian, Robin Merril in English, and Tanja Fior in German. Each has extensive experience in museum narration across Europe.
City officials emphasized that the new audioguide is intended not only to enhance the visitor experience for international tourists but also to encourage Trieste residents to rediscover the castle as a living cultural site.
The Castello di San Giusto, originally a medieval fortress and later expanded under the Habsburgs, remains one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks, offering panoramic views of Trieste, the Adriatic, and the Carso plateau.
