“Without Borders: Trieste and the Ideal of Nowhere”
“If you want to come back feeling new—alive and full of fresh hope and in love with the world—I think the place to visit may be Nowhere”. – Pico Iyer in The Art of Stillness
Trieste – Source: placesofjuma.com
The motto of the panethos.wordpress.com blog since its inception in 2011 has been “All cultures, All inclusive.” Even the blog’s name was developed to depict its inclusiveness, as pan and ethos mean the following:
Pan: “Involving all of a (specified) group or region.”
Ethos: “The distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature, or guiding beliefs of a person, group, or institution.” – Merriam-Webster.com
It was felt that the blog’s name and this theme were important to identify, as they reflect my strong personal beliefs against divisiveness, hatred, and bigotry. Therefore, the panethos.wordpress.com blog was designed to be a welcoming place on the internet where anyone can come and enjoy the subjects posted and maybe learn something new every now and then.
Source: bookshop.org
A few days ago, I finished reading a remarkably profound book that was written by author/historian Jan Morris that was published in 2001. Its title, Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere, may at first make one might think the book reflects a bland place that is not particularly memorable. Nothing could be further from the truth, as the following description from gemini.google.ai clearly attests:
“The word ‘Nowhere‘ can sometimes skew negative (meaning “unimportant”). However, in the context of Trieste, it usually implies liminality—that magical “in-between” state.
In the context of Jan Morris and her analysis of Trieste, liminality is the ‘secret sauce’ of the city.
Trieste feels liminal because it sits on the edge of Latin, Slavic, and Germanic worlds. It is a city that feels like a ‘threshold’ rather than a destination. This creates a specific psychological freedom—because the city doesn’t have a rigid, singular identity, the people within it are free to be ‘nowhere’ and ‘no one,’ existing in a permanent state of possibility.” – gemini.google.ai
Source: pinterest.com
Trieste rests upon the slender bootstrap of northeastern Italy. It is aptly and strategically positioned at the intersection of multiple nations, cultures, religions, transportation passages, and political ideologies — where Eastern Europe meets Western Europe; where NATO once faced the Iron Curtain; where freedom once met repression; where Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Islam, and Judaism intermingle; and where the old world melds with the new.
Trieste – Source: en.wikipedia.org
Influenced and impacted by so many varying forces, such a city cannot behold to just one set of ideals. Trieste became a seaside cultural mosaic where locals, expats, immigrants, artists, mariners, and exiles all coalesced into an aspirational urban polyglot of its own making and beliefs. Using the term “Oasi di Pace/Oasis of Peace” Ms. Morris describes the city as a sanctuary where ossified identities and dogmas cease to exist.
The following quote from her book about Trieste describes her feelings about the city best:
“There are people everywhere who form a Fourth World*, or a diaspora of their own. They are the lordly ones! They come in all colors. They can be Christians or Hindus or Muslims or Jews or pagans or atheists. They can be young or old, men or women, soldiers or pacifists, rich or poor. They may be patriots, but they are never chauvinists. They share with each other, across all the nations, common values of humor and understanding.
When you are among them you know you will not be mocked or resented, because they will not care about your race, your faith, your sex or your nationality, and they suffer fools if not gladly, at least sympathetically. They laugh easily. They are easily grateful. They are never mean. They are not inhibited by fashion, public opinion, or political correctness. They are exiles in their own communities, because they are always in a minority, but they form a mighty nation, if they only knew it. It is the nation of nowhere, and I have to think that its natural capital is Trieste”
– Jan Morris, Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere, pages 195-196
[*Her use of this term Fourth World should not be confused with the more recent geopolitical categorization of Fourth World countries as being those that are impoverished or failed.*]
Instead, Ms. Morris’ concept of Fourth World consists of those places that are not specifically aligned with any single ideology, political boundary, economic policy, or belief system. They are welcoming “pan-ethical” places with the admirable values of inclusiveness, kindness, and diversity.
The “nation of nowhere“ espoused by Jan Morris may not have a formal name nor does it have borders, whether they be physical, social, or societal. Instead, this “nation of nowhere” is simply made up of good-hearted people [everywhere] who refuse to be intellectually imprisoned by the vile concepts of nationalism, hate, racism, sexism, bigotry, and/or fear. And wouldn’t this world be so much more pleasant and peaceful if this were the case around the globe. The ideal is essentially John Lennon’s song “Imagine” put into practice.
For Trieste to be deemed “the capital of nowhere” where one can find the positive attributes associated with kindness noted throughout her book is certainly an honor of the highest degree. And, I for one, cannot wait to experience the many nuances of this truly amazing city. I hope you agree. Peace!
Trieste Barcolana (Regatta) – Source: italia.it
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Grant Denkinson
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