James Joyce

Have you read Ulysses? Did you know that the majority of the book was written in Trieste? In fact, the city played a fundamental role in the artistic, professional and personal life of James Joyce, who lived here with his partner Nora Barnacle for over 10 years.

History

Attracted by the international atmosphere and cultural vibrancy of the city, Joyce left Dublin to make Trieste his home and literary muse. The early 1900s were a magical moment for the city, which had become a hub for intellectuals and writers from all over Europe, who found their favorite meeting place in the cafés. Among them was James Joyce, who, apart from conceiving and starting his most famous novel Ulysses in Trieste, he also finished Dubliners and wrote A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man here.

His children were born in Trieste and he met Italo Svevo, the unforgettable author of Zeno’s Conscience. They were bound by fraternal love and an intellectual affinity, but above all, by a passion for writing, which both innovated.

Joyce frequented many places in Trieste, starting from the Berlitz School in via San Nicolò and Piazza Ponterosso, where he lived and now home to a bronze statue that celebrates his walks to Caffè Stella Polare in via Dante Alighieri, where he loved to stop to read his stories to his dear friend.

Museum

Trieste has dedicated a museum to James Joyce, the Joyce Museum in via Madonna del Mare, number 13. It also houses the Svevo Museum, dedicated to his friend Italo Svevo: a literary itinerary to discover the places that inspired two of the greatest writers of the 20th century can only start here.