Faro della Vittoria – In And Out Slovenia

Hi my friends,

Once again, we meet in Trieste.
Today, I am going to show you Faro della Vittoria (or “Victory Lighthouse” in English).
Let me put it this way-> Paris has the Eiffel Tower and Trieste has the Faro della Vittoria.
This old lighthouse was built in the 1920s on Gretta hill.
It serves as a guide for noctural navigation but it also serves as a monument.
The victory Lighthouse commemorates sailors who died during the first world war.
With a height of 68 meters and 129 meters above sea level, it is one of the tallest lighthouse in the world.
The lighthouse can be seen from a distance from many places in Trieste.
If you walk along the sea in a neighborhood called Barcola, you’ll see it very well.

View of the Victory Lighthouse from **Barcola** during sunset.

Many tourists and even locals look up at this beautiful monument and take pictures of it,
but they don’t know that we can actually visit it and go to its top. To be truthfull, I was one of them.
I have been visiting Trieste since 2014 but I only knew that we could visit it last year, in 2018.

I went to visit the lighthouse in August 2018.
I checked the weather forecast one day before to make sure that the weather was sunny and clear.
I wanted to have a perfect view over Trieste and the sea.

Inscription at the base -> “**Shine in memory of those who died at sea**“. The winged Victory statue at the top is 7 meters tall.

First and foremost guys, you cannot visit the lighthouse alone.
A guide/attendant will open the gate and welcome visitors.
The lighthouse is located in a military zone. You cannot go inside and wander around freely.
But the good news is that the entrance is free of charge -> Yeaaahh !!!
For each visit, only a group of 15 people (maximum) is allowed to go inside.

View of the dock of Trieste and the city center (to the left) from the street, near the green gate leading to the lighthouse.

Entrance gate -> You have to wait there untill an attendant comes and pick you up.

We’ve just passed the green gate. We are now walking up this alley leading to the lighthouse.

Once you’ll pass the green gate, you’ll have to walk up a nice alley surrounded by trees untill you reach the base of the lighthouse.
On each side of the lighthouse’s base, at the back of the monument, you’ll see 2 massive battleship ammunitions.
These 2 shells were retrived from the Austro-Hungarian flagship “SMS Viribus Unitis” in November 2018 after the boat was sunk by an Italian naval mine.
“Viribus Unitis” (meaning “With United Forces”) was the personal motto of Emperor Franz Joseph I (Emperor of Austro-Hungury between 1867 and 1916).

Entry at the back of the lighthouse. At its top stands a copper statue (called “Winged Victory”) raising a torch.

At the base of the lighthouse. We can see 2 massive battleship ammunitions on each side of the entrance.

CLose up of one of the 2 shells retrived from the Austro-Hungarian flagship “**VIRIBVS VNITIS**” in November 1918.

On the other side of the lighthouse, at the base of a huge statue, you’ll see the anchor of the Italian destroyer called “Audace“.
The old anchor of the “Audace” that we see on the front facade of the lighthouse commemorates the entry of the first Italian ship in Trieste after WWI ended.

Anchor of the destroyer “**Audace**” at the base of the lighthouse (under the statue).

Once I got inside the lighthouse, it took me 4/5 minutes to get to the top.
For those who are invalid or not willing to sweat, there is a small elevator that can take you to the top.

When I finally got to the top of the lighthouse, I was completly out of breath but the reward was great.
Wow … the view over trieste was absoluty fantastic.
I could see Barcola, the blue sea, the Temple of Monte Grisa, Miramare Castle, the city center of Trieste and its dock.
It was really worth the wait and the effort.

Arriving at the top of the lighthouse. This beautiful view was my reward.

Walking around the lighthouse. The light of the lighthouse (which has an average of 30 miles) is 5 meters above us.

View of Trieste looking towards the **Barcola** neighborhood. The pyramidal shape at the top of the plateau is the **Temple of Monte Grisa**.

View of the center of Trieste and its dock from above.

We only had 15 minutes to enjoy the view before the arrival of the next group of visitors.
Enough time to enjoy the view, take good pictures and ask question to the guide/attendant about the history of the lighthouse.
Do not hesitate to ask him question.

Before getting down, I took one last look over Trieste.
From up there, the city was absolutly gorgeous.
I kept saying to myself -> “Man, what a view! I could stay here forever!”.

Little girl enjoying the view one last time (just like me) before getting down.

Now, my friends, next time you’ll come visit Trieste and look up (from a distance) at the Victory Lighthouse,
don’t just look at it and take pictures. Go up there and you’ll have the best view over Trieste …for free.
Just make sure that you check the opening hours of the lighthouse to see if and when it is open.
It is not open all year long.

My tips for Victory Lighthouse :

1/ Park your car here.
2/ Go visit it when the weather is clear.
3/ Go early in the morning (less people).
4/ Take the elevator if you have problem walking.
5/ Do not hesitate to ask question to the attendant.
6/ Take a look at the lighthouse from Barcola.
7/ Infos and opening hours.