Montebello Racecourse, in the Rozzol district between Via Settefontane and Cattinara, is one of Trieste's oldest sports facilities still in use. It was officially inaugurated on 4 September 1892 before roughly 15,000 spectators, at a time when city races were still held informally on the Zaule plain or in the courtyard of the Caserma Grande.
The project began in 1890, promoted by lawyer and cavalier Antonio de Volpi, a passionate horseman who launched a fundraising committee and founded the Società delle Corse di Trieste, chaired by Baron Marco de Morpurgo. With 195,000 florins raised, the Society bought the undivided Rozzol plot from Countess Teresa della Torre-Hohenlohe of Duino, then still open countryside between Via Settefontane and Cattinara. Architect Ruggero Berlam designed and built the racetrack ring and first grandstands in just two years. In the inaugural race six horses competed — Mizika, Drug, Baldo, Pepa C., Drobinin and Peiatyn — and the Russian stallion Drug, ridden by cavalier Artelli, won; the 1,500-gold-franc prize was deliberately paid in that currency rather than Austrian florins, to shield Italian stables from exchange-rate swings. The inauguration was celebrated across the city by a committee chaired by Count Alberto de Poja, with a poster designed by Erminio Croci, an opera season at the Politeama, plays at the Fenice, concerts in Piazza Grande and a cavalcade to Sant'Andrea.
During the First World War the racecourse was closed and requisitioned: its stables housed Austrian cavalry and the grounds were used to grow turnips and potatoes. The complex reopened on 19 January 1919 for the victorious Third Army's arms festival, but official racing only resumed in May 1922, in the presence of King Vittorio Emanuele III, Queen Elena and Princess Jolanda. In 1937 the Società delle Corse ceased operations, replaced by the Società Triestina Trotto. After a pause during the Second World War, manager Giorgio Jegher led the recovery. In 1955, after the Bora wind tore the roof off the wooden stands, architect Romano Boico carried out a major renovation, building a new masonry grandstand seating 3,000.
Beyond trotting races, the racecourse has hosted cycling events — including two Giro d'Italia stage finishes, in 1946 and 1966 — and speedway motorcycle races between 1928 and 1950. Its track, over 800 metres long with banked curves rare in Italy, covers a total area of 85,000 square metres. Since 2012 it has also hosted the Alpe Adria riding school, offering lessons and equine therapy. Owned by the Municipality of Trieste, the facility is now managed by Nordest Ippodromi.