Trieste is a city and seaport in north eastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia.  Trieste is located at the head of the Gulf of Trieste and throughout history it has been influenced by its location at the crossroads of Germanic, Latin and Slavic cultures.

It is a border town and therefore the population is an ethnic mix of the neighbouring regions. The dominant local dialect of Trieste is called Triestine language, a form of Venetian. This dialect and the official Italian language are spoken in the city centre, while Slovene is spoken in several of the immediate suburbs.