ABSTRACT
The city of Rijeka (or Fiume in Italian) in the Northern Adriatic owes its development to the efforts of the Hapsburg policies which shaped it, along with Trieste, as a major port of the Austrian Littoral. Rijeka’s urban growth started in the late 18th and early 19th centuries with the arrival of many foreigners from different parts of Croatia and Italy (notably Friuli and Veneto), from Austrian territories such as the Carniola, as well as from Ottoman areas, such as Serbia and Bosnia. The foreigners found in Rijeka fertile ground for business and commerce, and the growing harbour traffic prompted the economic and cultural wealth of the city. Since the medieval centre of Rijeka was inconveniently placed between a hill and the sea, in the mid-18th century the city government proposed engineering projects that would enlarge the city’s territory through land reclamation. The new areas were named the “New Town” (Città Nuova), by contrast with the historical “Old Town,” and consisted mainly of residential blocks. The city’s major thoroughfare, the Korzo, was built in this period, comprising large houses and palaces for notable citizens. Many of the investors were foreign-born, and their palaces became landmarks in the urban image of Rijeka.
