MONFALCONE, Italy

Language: Italian Currency: €uro

DOCKING C.E.T.A.L. – Central European Terminal. This is Grimaldi’s dedicated terminal.  

TO GET TO TOWN

The only way is to take a taxi 

WHAT TO VISIT if time and schedule permits 

In Monfalcone itself there is not much to be seen.  But at less than 20 miles there is Aquileia, one of the most important archaeological sites in Italy. It’s construction was decided by the Senate of Rome in 181 BC,. and the place was chosen for its strategic position , since it could have been an efficient military stop­over for expeditions to Istria, the Illyrian, and for a strict control over the Iulian-Carnic Alps. Later on, still maintaining a predominant military role, Aquileia started its trading dealings, especially with the iron and gold mines of the Noricum (the present Carintia and most of Styria). From the Augustian Age onwards , the town became an important center of commercial exchanges between the Danubian regions and the Mediterranean basin, thanks to its favourable geographic location. In fact it stood in a fertile plain, crossed by a navigable river, the Natissa, which at that time flowed into the Adriatic Sea ; besides, a very functional road network connected Aquileia to the Padanian plain and to Central Europe. Trade stimulated the spreading of several artisan activities : there were work-shops specializing in mosaics, in carving marble and strong stones. Factories produced fine baked-clay and glass items. The town plan had a rectangular shape, similar to a Roman camp, and was divided into neighborhoods by parallel and perpendicular roads, following the direction of the cardinal points. The population living within the boundary walls was cosmopolitan and it is presumed to have come to 70,000 or perhaps to 100,000 inhabitants by the end of the Imperial era ; as a matter of fact Aquileia was considered on of the largest cities of the Roman Empire.

 

SHOPPING

Monfalcone is a smaller Italian provincial town. You will however find some nice shops in the center of the town. 

EATING OUT

There are numerous restaurants and trattorias in town.