Molo Audace is a

pier image:Brighton Pier, Brighton, East Sussex, England-2Oct2011 (1).jpg, Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century. A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of ...

located on the shores of

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

, Italy right in the centre of the city, a few steps from

Piazza Unità d'Italia Piazza Unità d'Italia (English: ''Unity of Italy Square'') is the main square in Trieste, a seaport city in northeast Italy. Located at the foot of the hill with the castle of San Giusto, the square faces the Adriatic Sea. It is often said to ...

and the Grand Canal. It separates the San Giorgio basin from the San Giusto basin of the Old Port.

History

In 1740, the ship San Carlo sank in Trieste harbour, close to the shore. Instead of removing the wreck, it was decided to use it as the basis for the construction of a new pier, which was built between 1743 and 1751 and was named after San Carlo. At the time, the pier was shorter than it is today; it measured only in length and was joined to the land by a small wooden bridge. In 1778, it was lengthened by and from 1860 to 1861, by a further , thus reaching its current length of . The bridge was also eliminated, joining the pier directly to the mainland. At that time, both passenger and merchant ships docked at the San Carlo quay, with much movement of people and goods. On 3 November 1918, at the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the first ship of the

Italian Royal Navy The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the Italian constitutional referendum, 1946, birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' ch ...

to enter the port of Trieste and dock at the San Carlo pier was the destroyer ''Audace'', whose anchor is now displayed at the base of the

Victory lighthouse Vittoria Light ( it, Faro della Vittoria) also known as the Victory Lighthouse, is an active lighthouse in Trieste, Italy, serving the Gulf of Trieste. It is located on the hill of Gretta (Poggio di Gretta), off the Strada del Friuli. At a height ...

In memory of this event, in March 1922, the name of the pier was changed to Molo Audace, and in 1925 a bronze

compass rose A compass rose, sometimes called a wind rose, rose of the winds or compass star, is a figure on a compass, map, nautical chart, or monument used to display the orientation of the cardinal directions (north, east, south, and west) and their int ...

was erected at the end of the pier, with an epigraph in the centre commemorating the landing, and on the side the inscription 'Cast in bronze enemy III November MCMXXV'. The rose, supported by a white stone column, replaced an earlier all-stone compass rose. The date MCMIL engraved on the column commemorates its restoration after being damaged during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Over time, as maritime traffic moved to other areas of the port, the Audace pier gradually lost its mercantile function, and today only passing boats occasionally dock there. The pier has thus remained a popular place for strolling, a walkway stretching out over the sea of undoubted charm, completing the promenade along the banks and in Piazza Unità d'Italia.

Gallery

File:Molo audace 015 2008-01.jpg, The pier seen from the banks. Snow-capped mountain peaks can be seen in the background File:Mole Audace.jpg, Piazza Unità seen from the Audace pier File:Molo San Carlo.jpg, Another image of the pier in XIX century File:Molo Audace 3.jpg, Tourists enjoy the first spring sunshine File:Molo audace 03-2008 2.jpg, The compass rose at the head of the pier File:Sailing Boat, Molo Audace, Trieste.JPG, Sunset view from the pier

References

{{reflist Trieste Piers in Italy