After the failed attempt - in 1821 - to build a road linking Prosecco to Opicina, a mountain path commonly named Napoleonica was created. This walk, a local favourite, is accessible to all, exposed to the sun but protected from Trieste's wind, the Bora. It starts by the Obelisk just before Opicina and can be reached by tram.
After some fi ve kilometers of large level path, you arrive at a stretch of asphalted trail overlooked by a rock-face where local climbers of all levels often come. A little further on lies Borgo San Nazario, just outside Prosecco, and the white outcrop of the Tempio Mariano di Monte Grisa, erected by the Archbishop of Trieste as a gesture of thanks for the protection from German bombing the city received in 1945. The view from the square in front of the church stretches from the Gulf of Trieste to the coast of Istria, with the Alps visible on a clear day.
To return without retracing your footsteps, the trail called Nicolò Cobolli (CAI N°12), ends close to the Obelisk.
Point of interest
The Obelisk, the symbol of Opicina, was erected in 1830 to the memory of Francis II at the opening of the new road, planned to stimulate trade by connecting the Imperial port of Trieste to Austria proper.