Trieste - il Porto Vecchio

In the period between the beginning of 1700 and 1850, Trieste was mainly an emporium and was given the status of Free Port by Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor in 1719. In 1740, when Empress Maria Theresa of Austria took power, one of the first measures she adopted was to extend the borders of the Free Port area to the periphery of the town, thereby merging the emporium, the port, the new city and the old one. The Empress decided to extend the exemptions from customs duties to the whole city, which attracted many people from different countries and all walks of life (Italians, Serbians, Slovenians, Croats, Jews and Greeks): for them a law was passed, the "Editto di tolleranza", which provided for the freedom of worship, the possibility to negotiate freely and to own goods. In the 1770s and 1780s, the Trieste Company (sometimes known as the "Austrian East India Company") attempted to connect directly the Habsburg Empire to the Indian and Chinese markets. It has been abandoned for ywears but now there is interest in restore it to its old fashion. I wanted to capture it now before they make it new.