Opicina obelisk, Monument and obelisk in Villa Opicina, Italy.

The Opicina obelisk stands on the Karst Plateau north of Trieste as a tall stone column rising from a rectangular base. This monument sits amid rolling hills where the city's urban area gives way to open countryside.

The obelisk was designed in 1834 by Biagio Valle, son of Valentino Valle, then an architecture student, for the Trieste Chamber of Commerce. It was meant to be inaugurated on 22 October 1838 by Emperor Francis I, but disputes over its siting, a cart accident during transport from the Zagorsko quarry at Monrupino and a broken winch delayed work. Construction was completed on 30 March 1839 without any official ceremony.

The obelisk carries inscriptions on its base: a dedication on the front and, on the rear side, the name of the commissioning body, the Trieste Chamber of Commerce. It stands at the quadrivio where the strada Napoleonica, also called strada Vicentina, begins, a junction locals still use as a reference point in Opicina.

You can reach the obelisk by taking the historic tramway that climbs from central Trieste up to Villa Opicina station. From there, a short walk leads directly to the monument and the surrounding hilltop area.

The obelisk was meant to be inaugurated on 22 October 1838 by Emperor Francis I, but the ceremony never happened: a long dispute over its siting, a cart accident while hauling the stone from the Zagorsko quarry at Monrupino and a broken winch delayed the work. Construction ended on 30 March 1839 with no official ceremony at all.