Casa Sardotsch, also known as Casa Bizantina, was an elegant historical building located in the Barriera Vecchia area in Trieste. It was designed by the engineer and architect Raffaele Vicentini and built in 1875 on commission from Nicolò Sardotsch, a member of a local family.
Architecture and Significance
The architecture of the building was characterized by a historicist style that recalled Byzantine elements, distinguishing the structure as one of the symbols of the multi-ethnicity and cosmopolitanism typical of Trieste in the Austro-Hungarian era.
The Caffè Bizantino
Casa Sardotsch also housed a well-known city café, the Caffè Bizantino, which was frequented by a heterogeneous clientele rich in cultural ferment.
- It was already equipped with a telephone in 1909, a sign of its central role in the social life of the city.
Urban Transformations and Demolition
In the '30s, with the implementation of the new city regulatory plan and the creation of Piazza dell’Impero (today Largo della Barriera Vecchia), the area underwent significant urban transformations.
- As part of this plan, which was also intended with ideological purposes to celebrate the Italian Colonial Empire, Casa Sardotsch was demolished in 1934 to make way for this new urban layout, together with other historical buildings in the area.
Post-War Period and Reconstruction Projects
In the post-war period, Piazza dell’Impero was renamed Largo della Barriera Vecchia and starting from the '90s, there has been discussion about the possibility of rebuilding Casa Bizantina, a project however never realized for various reasons.
The loss of Casa Sardotsch represents one of many examples of how urban transformation has erased many testimonies of nineteenth-century Trieste, profoundly modifying the historical and cultural fabric of the city.