Saint Spyridon Church, Trieste


Saint Spyridon Church is a Serbian Orthodox church in Trieste, Italy.

History

The Orthodox community in Trieste was established in 1748 but it wasn't until 1751 when Empress Maria Theresa allowed free practice of religion for Orthodox Christians, this prompted immigration of Serbian traders from Herceg Novi, Trebinje and Sarajevo to Trieste. The first Eastern Orthodox Church was built in mid XVIII century and it served as a place of worship for local Serbs and Greeks both. The first service in the church was carried out in 1755, with two bell towers built in 1782. Disagreements between two ethnic groups on the issues of church affairs led to the dissolution of the join community in 1781. The separate Serb community continued its work independently and as early as 1782 it was officially established.
Due to the instability of the grounds on which the first church was erected, a join decision was made to demolish the existing one and to erect the second church. The construction began on March 2, 1861 and it was designed by architect Carlo Maciachini, the exterior decor was entrusted to Pompey Bertini and Antony Karelia, the interior painted decorations and the design of exterior decorations were done by Giuseppe Bertini and Emilio Bisi produced sculptures for the facade. The marble used to build the church comes from Carrara, Verona, Karst Plateau and Istria. The construction of the church was finished on September 2, 1868, and a small consecration took place on September 20, 1869.
From 1994 up to administrative changes within the dioceses of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the parish in Trieste fell within the Metropolitanate of Zagreb and Ljubljana. Since 2011, it is under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Austria and Switzerland.
Saint Spyridon Church treasury holds numerous objects, historical documents, icons and various works of art, dating back to 1751.
Next to the Church is the Jovan Miletić School.

Gallery