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| Address: | San Giovanni di Duino/Štivan | | Description: | Today, San Giovanni di Duino/Štivan is a small settlement situated by the Timava source at the south-western foot of M.te Ermada/Grmada (323m), and is the last village on the border with the Municipalities of Monfalcone and Doberdò sul Lago. The Trieste-Venice motorway runs just above the village. The village has 180 inhabitants (2003) and is situated between 0 and 60 metres above sea-level. | | Access: | The village is situated on the crossroads of the national roads for Trieste-Monfalone and Gorizia/Nova Gorica. | | Historical facts: | In Roman times, San Giovanni di Duino/Štivan was a famous place by the Timava source (Station Fontis Timavi). The Lacus Timavi port was nearby and from here roads ran towards Goriška, past the Karst towards Vipava, to Trieste, Istria and Dalmatia and to Aquileia, Friulia (Pianura del Friuli) and Venice. The Slavs settled here during the time of the Great Migrations. The Benedictines built a monastery here in the 6th century (which later became the centre of the Christianization of eastern countries). The Church of St John (San Giovanni in Tuba) and the monastery were under the jurisdiction of Aquileia. This church was a popular centre for ancient pilgrimage. Because it was at the crossroads of many different routes, it was destroyed and rebuilt many times, until in the late Middle Ages, Pope Nicholas VI put the monastery and the Church of San Giovanni di Duino/Štivan into the custody of the Counts of Duino/Devin in 1290. Major profits were made from commerce and transportation, olive and winegrowing, the breeding of sheep, fishing and mills, and saws on the Timava River.
The port of San Giovanni di Duino/Štivan was economically important until the emergence of the liberated port of Trieste at the beginning of the 18th century. From then on, San Giovanni di Duino/Štivan started to deteriorate. It was finally burnt to ashes during the World War I, when the Isonzo Front reached Grmada. After the war, new houses were built elsewhere. In 1932, a new church of St. John the Baptist was built above the road. The old historical church was rebuilt by the Anglo-American Military Administration after World War II. The old cemetery and monuments around the church were also completely destroyed. Today, there is not a single trace that would testify to the importance of the village in the past.
| | Attractions: | • The Church of St. John (Chiesa di San Giovanni in Tuba/stara cerkev Sv. Janeza krstnika) was built on the old foundations, because the village was regarded as holy because of its rich water springs. In World War II, the church was badly damaged. During its renovation in the 1950s, different layers of ancient foundations were discovered. The oldest chapel dates back to the 5th century, when a certain Janez Damaska buried the remains of St. John, St. Stephan, St. George and St. Lawrence here. It is believed that during the same period the first monastery was built. However, written documents do testify to the actual existence of the monastery. The present church was built by the Counts of Wallsee between 1399-1472. The high single-nave room has Gothic foundations and the same holds true for the presbytery with its three vertical windows. The sacristy holds several plaques with inscriptions, such as the inscription of the Patriarch Ulderik Eppenstein from 1113, when he found the remains and that same year he extended the church around the chapel. Until World War I, there was a military cemetery around the church, but it was destroyed over the following years. Visits to the church are by appointment only, to be arranged with the local priest from the Parish San Marco/sv. Mark in the Villaggio del Pescatore/Ribiško Naselje.
• The new Church of St. John the Baptist (Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista/nova cerkev Sv. Janeza Krstinka) was built in 1932 as a reimbursement for damage caused by the war. The church nave has the shape of the octagonal ground plan and it was equipped with paintings and patrially with sculptures by Avgust Černigoj in 1937. Outside stands the statue of the Angel of Peace, made by the sculptor France Gorše in 1929.
• Remains of the former sanctuary of the God Mitra (Mitreo or also The Caverna del dio Mitra) near the electricity tower on the elevation of Mali Škrnjak below the railway. The area is fenced off and overgrown.
• Roman mosaics and the remains of a post office (Mansio fons Timavi) but they are in the fenced off area of the Trieste aqueduct/Aquedotto Randaccio and unfortunately are inaccessible.
• The remains of Roman roads are still visible near the monument dedicated to the “Tuscan Wolves/Lupi di Toscana”, at the entrance to the village coming from Duino/Devin.
• A number of monuments below the new church in memory of the devastating events of World War I.
• The four sources of the Timava River with rich bank vegetation which run until the river meets the sea.
• A centenary sumac, (circumference 1m, height 7m), which grows among the poplar trees by the old church and is an exceptional example of dendrology.
• Footpath by the Timava River past the places where mills and saw mills once stood. The road is surfaced, but it is meant for pedestrians only; it leads to Villaggio del pescatore/Ribiško Naselje.
• Hill fort on Mali Škrnjak/quota 170 dell’Ermada 750 metres to the east of San Giovanni di Duino/Štivan.
| | Tourist infrastructure: | By the state road there is an inn and nearby is a grocery shop and a sports shop. | | Other attractions: | There is a water pump for the Trieste aqueduct Randaccio, and the Burgo paper factory is situated between the Timava and Lisert/Moščenice.
| | Contact person: | Tic Štanjel | | E-mail address: | tic.stanjel@komen.si | | Telephone: | +386 (0)5 7690056 | | Locality: | San Giovanni di Duino/Štivan | | Municipality: | Duino-Aurisina/Devin-Nabrežina | | Region: | Kras | | Region: | Obalno-kraška regija | | Country: | ITA |
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