Before
World War I, when Trieste was still a part of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Italian-speaking population strongly supported the idea of building a university in the town, but Austrian authorities repeatedly rejected the proposal. After the annexation of Trieste to Italy, the already existing
Superior School in Commerce was granted the same rights of similar schools in Italy, and in 1924 it was turned into a university, by king's decree (8 August 1924, n. 1338). In 1938, with the institution of the Law faculty, the second after the Economy and Commerce faculty, the university became a
Studium Generale (General Studies) one, and thus was given the title of
Regia Università degli Studi (The Royal University of Studies). In the same year, the construction of a new building to house the faculties began on the Scoglietto hill, in a position dominating the Old City. The building, which still hosts the directive board and some faculties, was designed by architects
Raffaello Fagnoni and
Umberto Nordio. The first stone was posed in a ceremony on 19 September 1938 in the presence of the
Italian Prime Minister and other authorities.
World War II slowed down the planned enlargement of the university. Indeed, the faculty of Engineering, although established in 1942, was restricted to naval engineering until the end of the war, while the opening of the faculty of Literature and philosophy, planned in 1943, was postponed till 1945. After the world war,
Trieste was put under the joint control of the
United Kingdom and the
United States of America, in preparation for the establishment of a fully independent State, the
Free Territory of Trieste, which nevertheless never came to exist. The Allied Government allowed the foundation of the new Literature and Philosophy faculty, instituted the faculty of Mathematical, Physical and Natural Sciences, and completed the construction of the main building on the Scoglietto hill, inviting an emissary of the
Italian government to the inauguration ceremony. In 1954 Trieste was given back to Italy thanks to an agreement between the
American and the
Italian governments. To celebrate, the university awarded the
President of the Italian Republic Luigi Einaudi a
honoris causa degree in Economy and Commerce. In a short time new faculties were added (Pharmacy, Teaching Sciences, Medicine and Surgery, Political Sciences), while also new buildings were inaugurated on the Scoglietto hill and in other parts of the town. In 1978 the
School of Modern Languages for Interpreters and Translators was given the status of faculty; in 1997 the faculty of Psychology and in 1998 the faculty of Architecture completed the range of faculties currently present at the university. ==Organization==