Muggia

Before the year 1000 a new settlement was built on the seashore. After the 13th century the new village, now grown to the status of city, pronounced itself a municipality and defined its territory as bordering with those of

After World War I and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, the town was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy and incorporated into the Province of Trieste. In the 1930s, the area developed a strong Communist underground activity against Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime. In 1945, it was occupied by the Yugoslav People's Army and from 1947 to 1954 it was part of the Free Territory of Trieste, a formally independent territory directly administered by the United Nations. The territory was internally divided into two zones ruled by military governors - Muggia ended up in the northern Zone A ruled by Anglo-Americans, while the southern Zone B was ruled by the Yugoslav army. In 1954 the two zones were handed over to Italian and Yugoslav civilian governments and de facto annexed by the two countries in an arrangement finally formalized in the 1975 Treaty of Osimo, which established the former borders between Zones as the new Italy-Yugoslavia international border. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s it formed the border between Italy and the newly independent Slovenia. Following Slovenia's accession to the European Union in May 2004 and the passport-free Schengen Area in January 2008, all border controls have been removed, making the Italian-Slovenian border which runs just south and east of Muggia, practically invisible to travellers.

Main sights

Muggia provides many evident traces of its Venetian traditions and origin, as showed by the dialect, the gastronomic traditions, the gothic-venetian style of some houses, the devious "calli", the loggias, the ogive arches, the ancient coats of arms on the façades but mostly the main square, a true Venetian "campiello".

Memories of its early ages include an important pre-historic "castelliere" on Mt. Castellier (S. Barbara) and Roman (Archaeological Park of Castrum Muglae) and medieval remains in Muggia Vecchia (Old Muggia), once one of the guarding castles that in the 10th century were built to defend the Istrian border against the invasion of the Hungarians.

The Castle of Muggia, destroyed in 1353 by the Triestines, retains several remains of the previous period such as the ruins of the walls. A tower dating back to 1374 was due to the Patriarch of Aquileia Marquard of Muggia. Later in 1735, under the government of the Republic of Venice, it was restored, but it was totally abandoned during the following century. The Castle was restored by its current owners, the sculptor Villi Bossi and his wife Gabriella, and may be visited upon request.

The most important art attraction is the little basilica of

Panorama of Muggia

Culture

Among the occurrences characterizing the socio-cultural life of this small city is well worth mentioning the Carnival of Muggia.

The Carnival absorbs much of the population of Muggia engaging them in the construction of allegoric carts articulated and moving in order to better mock the chosen victim and in the realization of gorgeous costumes. During those seven days the city becomes a true open-air theatre offering a continuous entertainment that previsibly climaxes in the great parade on the last Sunday. The town also has a museum of modern art named after sculptor Ugo Carà.

International relations

Sister cities / Twin towns

• Koper, Slovenia^[6]
• Obervellach, Austria

Notable residents

• Willer Bordon (1949–2015), politician
• Villi Bossi (born 1939), sculptor
• Giovanni Cattai (born 1945), football player
• Niccolò Giani (1909–1941), philosopher and journalist
• Dario Hübner (born 1967), football player
• Giuseppe Tarlao (1904–1978), football player
• Vittorio Vidali (1900–1983), communist activist and politician

Muggia comune

Towns

• Muggia

Villages

• Aquilinia
• Boa
• Chiampore
• Lazzaretto
• Villaggio Castalietto

See also

• Istria
• Venezia Giulia
• Plavje

References

1. ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
2. Istat
   .
3. ^ Snoj, Marko (2009). Etimološki slovar slovenskih zemljepisnih imen. Ljubljana: Modrijan. p. 262.
4. ^ "Centro storico di Muggia". Percorsi in Provincia di Trieste.
5. ^ de Carvalho, Rodolfo. "Duomo di Muggi". www.friuli.vimado.it.
6. ^ "Sito ufficiale del Comune di Muggia". Comune.muggia.ts.it. Retrieved 27 March 2010.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Muggia.

• Official website (in Italian)
• Muggia town's Guide
• Porto San Rocco Marina in Muggia