Description
The Serbian Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity and Saint Spyridon is the church of Trieste's Serbian community, in the Borgo Teresiano, next to the Canal Grande. Blue domes, mosaics and statues on the façade: a corner of Byzantium by the canal.
Outside, the central dome rises higher than the four bell towers, and the hemispherical cupolas are an intense blue. The outer walls are covered in mosaics, and the façade is adorned with nine large statues by the Milanese sculptor Emilio Bisi.
Inside, everything follows Byzantine canons: the walls are entirely painted in oils, but in a way that imitates mosaic. The rich iconostasis stands out, with four icons covered in gold and silver, painted in Russia in the early 19th century.
At the entrance hangs a large silver lamp, a gift from Pavel Petrovich Romanov, who would later become Tsar of Russia as Paul I. The sanctuary has three altars, and the church's marbles come from Carrara, Verona, the Karst and Istria. The treasury keeps icons, documents and works of art dating back to 1751.
The community came into being thanks to Maria Theresa, who in 1751 granted the Orthodox freedom of worship: Serbian merchants then arrived in Trieste from Herceg Novi, Trebinje and Sarajevo. The first church, dedicated to Saint Spyridon, was shared with the Greeks.
The coexistence did not last: in 1781 the two communities split over disagreements about running the church. The Greeks left and built the church of San Nicolò; the Serbs paid them 20,000 florins for their share of Saint Spyridon.
Today's church was built because the ground beneath the first one was unstable. Designed by Carlo Maciachini, it was built between 1861 and 1868 and consecrated in 1869. Next to it is a Serbian school named after Jovan Miletić, a Sarajevo merchant who left 24,000 florins for the education of Trieste's Serbian children.
Outside, the central dome rises higher than the four bell towers, and the hemispherical cupolas are an intense blue. The outer walls are covered in mosaics, and the façade is adorned with nine large statues by the Milanese sculptor Emilio Bisi.
Inside, everything follows Byzantine canons: the walls are entirely painted in oils, but in a way that imitates mosaic. The rich iconostasis stands out, with four icons covered in gold and silver, painted in Russia in the early 19th century.
At the entrance hangs a large silver lamp, a gift from Pavel Petrovich Romanov, who would later become Tsar of Russia as Paul I. The sanctuary has three altars, and the church's marbles come from Carrara, Verona, the Karst and Istria. The treasury keeps icons, documents and works of art dating back to 1751.
The community came into being thanks to Maria Theresa, who in 1751 granted the Orthodox freedom of worship: Serbian merchants then arrived in Trieste from Herceg Novi, Trebinje and Sarajevo. The first church, dedicated to Saint Spyridon, was shared with the Greeks.
The coexistence did not last: in 1781 the two communities split over disagreements about running the church. The Greeks left and built the church of San Nicolò; the Serbs paid them 20,000 florins for their share of Saint Spyridon.
Today's church was built because the ground beneath the first one was unstable. Designed by Carlo Maciachini, it was built between 1861 and 1868 and consecrated in 1869. Next to it is a Serbian school named after Jovan Miletić, a Sarajevo merchant who left 24,000 florins for the education of Trieste's Serbian children.