Dear friends of the Hotel Città di Parenzo,

for the month of December, Trieste offers its tourists and its people a series of unmissable events that mix culture, entertainment and tradition: we are talking about the famous San Nicolò Fair and the eagerly awaited Christmas markets!

First of all, however, let’s take a step back in time to discover the origins of the cult of this Saint: Nicolò was a priest and bishop born in 270 AD and died in 343 AD. For his actions during his life in favour of the little ones, Nicolò is often referred to as the ‘protector of children’: citing an example, it is said that Nicolò, in order to help a poor man with three daughters who could not marry because they had no money to pay their dowry, took some of his own money and threw it into the man’s house for three consecutive nights, so that all three daughters could obtain the coveted dowry. Another great legend has it that the bishop himself managed to bring back to life three children who had been killed by a greedy butcher to sell their flesh.

The cult of San Nicolò can be found in several European nations, and many believe that it arrived in Trieste in the last years of the 18th century following the establishment of the free port in the then Austro-Hungarian capital. Many traders from the Middle East and even Greece arrived in the city and decided to name the largest Orthodox church in Trieste after San Nicolò.

Since then, every year, on the morning of 6 December, the children of Trieste wake up in the hope of finding the gifts and sweets left during the night by San Nicolò; the less judicious, on the other hand, receive coal (since it is still a sweet, it is more a sort of warning than a real punishment!).

As for the markets dedicated to the saint, it is said that it was the Greek community – one of the largest in the Julian capital – that instituted them in the city. Over the years, the celebration has grown so much that it has become one of the most renowned festivities in Trieste. From 30 November to 8 December, more than 90 exhibitors from all over Italy and Europe will line Viale XX Settembre with typical products, gifts, sweets and much more.

Once the San Nicolò Fair is over, the actual Christmas markets will follow: this time, the exhibitors will be positioned around Piazza Sant’Antonio, Canal Grande and Piazza della Borsa with their characteristic Mitteleuropean-inspired wooden huts. The Christmas markets will remain in town until the weekend of 6 January.

And you? Did you know the cult of San Nicolò and the traditional Christmas markets in Trieste?

To plan your stay and breathe in the Christmas atmosphere in Trieste, do not hesitate to ask our staff for information!