Golfo di Trieste

Sea Trieste, Italy

The gulf of Trieste is an inlet of the Adriatic Sea, between the island of Grado (Friuli Venezia Giulia) and Punta Salvore (Croatia), near Pirano (Slovenia). The gulf has an area of about 550 km² with an average depth of 16 m and a maximum depth of about 25 m, which it reaches near Piran. The mouth is 21 km wide. The coast has shallow and sandy bottoms in the western section, characterized by the presence of numerous trezze, while the rest of the coast, from the mouth of the Timavo onwards, is mainly high and rocky as it is close to the Carso plateau. The Isonzo and Timavo rivers flow into the Italian section, the Risano and Dragongna rivers into the Slovenian one, the latter on the border with Croatia. The city of Trieste is located in the innermost and eastern part; the other important urban centers facing the gulf are Monfalcone, Duino and Muggia in Italy, Capodistria, the island of Istria and Pirano in Slovenia. The regional nature reserves of the Cavanata valley, the mouth of the Isonzo and the Duino cliffs also overlook the gulf, as well as the Miramare marine nature reserve in Italy, the Strugnano nature reserve, the marine protected areas of Punta Madonna and Punta Grossa and the Sečovlje salt pans natural park in Slovenia. The gulf of Trieste is the northernmost gulf in the world where there is a Mediterranean-type climate.