Risiera di San Sabba – Monumento Nazionale

About the museum

The Risiera di San Sabba was built at the end of the 19th century as a rice-hulling plant in the San Sabba district of Trieste. The plant ceased operations between the late 1920s and the early 1930s; from 1930 the army used part of it as a warehouse, and after 1940 the complex was converted into barracks.

After the German occupation of September 1943, the Risiera became a Polizeihaftlager, a police detention camp: a place of imprisonment, of sorting prisoners for deportation, and of killing partisans, political opponents and Jews. It is the only Nazi camp in Italy equipped with a crematorium, in operation from 1944 until the end of the war. After the war the buildings housed refugees from countries beyond the Iron Curtain until the early 1960s.

The complex was declared a National Monument by decree of the President of the Republic in 1965. Between 1972 and 1975 the Trieste architect Romano Boico converted it into a memorial and civic museum, preserving the inner courtyard, the micro-cells and the site of the former crematorium. Since 2016 a multimedia section has gathered photographs, documents, personal objects and video testimonies from former deportees. The site also promotes educational activities, cultural initiatives and commemorative ceremonies.

Key themes

• Death cell and detention cells
• Commemoration hall with the sculpture group “I Martiri” by Marcello Mascherini
• Inner courtyard and site of the former crematorium
• Multimedia section with video testimonies of former deportees
• Audio guide in seven languages

Permanent exhibition

• Memoriale e sezione multimediale – Route through the courtyard, the cells and the site of the former crematorium, with the multimedia section on deportees and their testimonies.

Founded

1975

Operated by

Comune di Trieste (servizi di visita e didattica a cura di CoopCulture)

Visitors per year

approx. 137,164

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission to the memorial is free. The audio guide costs €3.50; fixed-departure guided tours and group tours are booked through CoopCulture.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The paving is uneven in the death cell, in the cells and in the Sala delle Croci, which can only be visited in part; the site asks visitors to take care. A parking space reserved for people with disabilities is in Via Rio Primario.

Kids & families

Only partly suitable for kids

A place of remembrance dedicated to deportation and extermination; CoopCulture offers educational activities for schools. The audio guide is recommended from age 12.

Getting there & parking

Coaches may stop in front of the entrance only to let groups off; parking is prohibited.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit