Trieste

Trieste was an Adriatic port whose medieval commune prospered on maritime trade. In 1337 it governed itself under consuls and competed with Venice for trade.

Venice occupied Trieste from 1368 to 1372. After the 1381 Peace of Turin, the city's leading citizens petitioned the Habsburg duke and submitted voluntarily in 1382. Frederick III sacked it in 1468 and 1469; its fortunes revived when Charles VI made it a free port in 1719, opening the way to its growth as Austria's main harbour.