On the San Giusto hill, five minutes from the Piazza dell’Unita d’Italia, is the oldest church in the city, the Basilica di San Silvestro. Dating from the Paleo-Christian era it is a small building in Roman style, with some Gothic work and windows near the bell tower. The church has gone through many facelifts and restorations in the Baroque and neo-classical periods. With the Edict of Giuseppe II in 1784 and the annulment of the Jesuit order, San Sivestro was closed along with twelve other Trieste churches and put up for auction; it now belongs to the Valdese community.
