by InTrieste
On Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, Trieste will offer residents and visitors a layered way to explore the city’s most emblematic public space, Piazza Unità d’Italia, through a special dual-format guided tour linked to the exhibition “La Fototeca in piazza. Scatti di storia e storie” at Palazzo Gopcevich.
The initiative, called IN & OUT, combines an indoor visit to the exhibition with an outdoor historical walk across the square itself, allowing participants to experience Piazza Unità both as an archive of images and as a living urban space. The two parts are designed to be complementary but can also be attended independently.
The morning begins at 10:15 a.m. with the IN portion: a free guided tour inside the Sala Selva exhibition hall led by the show’s curator, Claudia Colecchia. Drawing on material from Trieste’s Fototeca, the exhibition traces the evolution of Piazza Unità d’Italia from the earliest photographic records of the 19th century to the present day. The images document not only architectural change but also shifting patterns of civic life, offering a visual narrative of how the square became the symbolic heart of the city.
At 11:30 a.m., the focus moves outdoors with the OUT portion, which departs from Palazzo Gopcevich. Led by Francesca Pitacco of the cultural association Cizerouno, the walking tour is titled “Piazza Unità before Photography.”Using historical sources and on-site interpretation, the tour reconstructs what the square looked like and how it functioned before cameras became part of urban documentation, inviting participants to imagine a Trieste that predates the visual record preserved in the Fototeca.
Together, the two visits create a dialogue between image and place, past and present — a way of understanding how photography has shaped collective memory while also highlighting what lies beyond the frame.
The IN visit lasts one hour, is free of charge and does not require booking. The OUT walking tour also lasts one hour and costs €10; advance registration is required at info@cizerouno.it. Participants may attend either part or both.
The exhibition “La Fototeca in piazza. Scatti di storia e storie” remains open until April 6, 2026, from Wednesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Admission is free.
Further information is available at fototeca.trieste.it, by email at cmsafototeca@comune.trieste.it, or by phone at 040 6754039.
