Neil Kent`s portrait of Trieste fills a major gap in contemporary writing on Italy, an important task bearing in mind that the city is now one of Western Europe`s major gateways to the Balkans. It focuses in particular on the last two centuries: first, on the post-Napoleonic period-its heyday- when Trieste emerged as the otherwise landlocked Habsburg Empire`s gateway to the Adriatic, a rich & thriving city of numerous ethnic & religious groups; then on the period of decline after the First World War, when Italian irredentists longing to recover Dalmatia radiated out from the city; & next on the decades of the Cold War, when Trieste became a marginalized border town, with its link to the Balkans virtually blocked off. Finally the book moves into the contemporary period, when the political & economic reorganisation of the Balkans has made Trieste south-eastern Europe`s gateway to western Europe. While political, economic & social issues form the primary focus, art, literature & architecture, natural geography & aspects relating to health & hygiene are also examined.