Hi guys,

Today, I am going to show you San Giovanni Di Duino (->map).
This little village (in the province of Trieste) has less than 200 inhabitants  is very close from Sistiana, Duino and Villaggio Del Pescatore.

The village is known here because the spring of the Timavo river is there, next to the “Church of San Giovanni in Tuba”.
This Timova river is a bit special because the first part of its course is in Slovenia, on the other side of the border.
In that first part, the river is called the Reka river (in Slovenia).
The river continues its course until the village of Škocjan (in Slovenia) and disappears underground
for almost 40 km under the karst Plateau through the Škocjan Caves.
It then reappears at the surface here, in San Giovanni di Duino.
At that point, this part of the river is now called Reka river anymore but Timavo river.
The river continues its course for 3 km before outflowing in the Gulf of Trieste.

I have often talked about the “Karst region” (“kras” in Slovenian) or the “Karst Plateau”.
Just so you know, the “Karst Plateau” is a limestone plateau region extending across the border of southwestern Slovenia and northeastern Italy.

Near the spring of the Timavo river, you’ll see the Church of San Giovanni in Tuba.
This 1483 church stands on the site of an ancient paleo-christian basilica.
Though it was damaged in 1917 during WWI, it has been partly rebuilt after WWII.
We can still see the floor of the ancient christian basilca with its mosaics on the ground, inside the church.

The church is surrounded by a little park with a lot af trees.
It is really nice to walk around the church, sit and relax in the shade during the spring and the summer.
In addition to that, hearing the sound of the river flowing will be like music to your ears.

If you walk a few meters towards the main street, you’ll see the other church named Church of Giovanni Battista.
Near that church, you’ll see huge square stone. It commemorates the remembrance of the 3rd Army.
The 3rd Army was a large unit of the former Royal Italian Army during WWI and WWII.
On that stone is written “Rispettate il camp della Morte e della Gloria” meaning “Respect the field of death and Glory“.

Next to the main road (“SS14” road), you’ll also see the “Monument for the Wolves of Tuscany” (“Monumento ai Lupi di Toscana”).
This monument commemorates the soldiers of the 77th and 78th “Wolves of Tuscany” infantry regiment who died during the 10th battle of Isonzo (between May 12 and June 8 of 1917).
During WWI, there were 12 bloody battle between Italian and the Austro-Hungarian armies between June 1915 and November 1917.
The front of the 12 battles was located along the Soča river (present-day Slovenia but former Austro-Hungarian territory)
and the Isonzo river, on the eastern sector of the Italian front.

If you want to take a nice walk or go on a bike ride,
there is a path that is about 30 meters away from the Wolves of Tuscany Monument.
If you follow that path for about 1.4 km, you’ll arrive in Villaggio del Pescatore.

 

My tips for San Giovanni di Duino:

1/ Park your car here.
2/ Go see the spring of the Timavo river.
3/ Go inside the “Chuch of San Giovanni in Tuba”.
4/ Go see the “Wolves of Tuscany Monument”.
5/ Go walk aroung the “Church of Giovanni Battista”.
6/ Go visit Villaggio del Pescatore (on foot or by bike).