Pasticcerie and bakery cafés in Trieste

Pirona and the old counters

Caffè Pasticceria Pirona has sold traditional Trieste pastries from the same Liberty-style shelves since Alberto Pirona opened it on Largo Barriera Vecchia in April 1900; Joyce, who lived in the area, was a frequent customer.³ It is smoke-free and air-conditioned, wheelchair-accessible, and sells to take away.

La Bomboniera on Via XXX Ottobre, founded in 1850 by the Hungarian Eppinger family, still has its original oven, one of the few of its kind working in Italy, and specializes in Austrian and Hungarian cakes.³ Eppinger Caffè, on Via Dante, serves cakes, pastries and Trieste specialties, with lunch and a Sunday brunch.⁴

Presnitz, putizza and pinza

The presnitz is said to have been made first in 1832 for a visit by Emperor Francis I, and to owe its name to a Preis Prinzessin it won; most etymologies point instead to the Slovene presnec.¹ Local tradition places the first putizza at Miramare Castle in 1864, though the Slovene pastor Primož Trubar described the cake in 1575.² Both are on Italy's register of traditional regional products.¹²

The pinza, a sweet egg bread, is the third leavened cake of the season. Gambero Rosso's 2023 selection of Trieste bakeries names presnitz, putizza and pinza among the festive cakes they bake.⁵

Bakeries with a coffee bar

Viezzoli Pirona, at Via della Cassa di Risparmio 7, has baked since the 1950s, known for its tall, soft traditional bread, Altamura loaves and small pizzas.⁵ At its counter, Gambero Rosso recommends the capo in b with strudel, pinze or gubane; the same management runs Pirona and Panificio Viezzoli on Via Antonio Baiamonti.⁴ The Baiamonti shop opens 07:00–19:30 Monday to Saturday and has tables outside.

Panetteria Giugovaz, on Via Antonio Canova, opens at 06:30 Monday to Saturday and serves brunch. In Opicina, Caffè Vatta at Via Nazionale 38 offers Italian, American, vegan and English breakfasts with its espresso.⁴

Cake shops and vegan counters

MUG Bakery, on Piazza Attilio Hortis, describes its daily baking as Anglo-Saxon: cupcakes, muffins, brownies, cheesecakes and biscuits.⁶ Pasticceria de Ily, on Via San Francesco d'Assisi, has vegan options and closes at 14:00 on Sundays and all day on Mondays. La Perla pasticceria on Via Santa Caterina da Siena, Bar Pasticceria Sanna on Via Giorgio Galatti and Pasticceria Patti on Viale Raffaello Sanzio round out the counters.