Piazza Unità d'Italia (English:Unity of Italy Square) is the main square inTrieste, a seaport city in northeastItaly. Located at the foot of the hill with the castle ofSan Giusto, the square faces theAdriatic Sea. It is often said to be Europe's largest square located next to the sea.[citation needed] The square was built during the period when Trieste was the most important seaport of theAustrian-Hungarian Empire and includes the city's municipal buildings and other important palaces.
Before 1919 it was known asPiazza Grande, or Great Square. The localSlovenes still refer to it asVeliki trg (Great Square), both in daily speech and in the media.[1] In the last decade, the termTrg zedinjenja (Unity Square) orTrg zedinjenja Italije (Unity of Italy Square) has also become popular, especially in official documents.[2][3]
The square itself has occasionally been used as a concert venue, withGreen Day using the square as a venue for a show on their99 Revolutions Tour in 2013. The attendance was of 12,000 people.[4]In 2016, it was used by heavy metal bandIron Maiden as a concert venue (it was the third of three Italian dates): the concert was sold out with over 15,000 fans.[5]
The square is also occasionally used for visits of foreign heads of state and meetings. In November 2013 President of RussiaVladimir Putin met Italian Prime MinisterEnrico Letta there for bilateral talks.[citation needed] In July 2017 a trilateral meeting attended byAngela Merkel,Emmanuel Macron, andPaolo Gentiloni was held there, as well as the fourthWestern Balkans Summit. On 7th July 2024Pope Francis celebratedHoly Mass in the square as part of the 50th Social Week of Catholics in Italy.[6]
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45°39′00″N13°46′04″E / 45.65000°N 13.76778°E /45.65000; 13.76778
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