Palazzo della Borsa vecchia (prima metà ottocento)
piazza della Borsa 14
Arch. Antonio Mollari

The Palace was built in the early nineteenth century, at the behest of the Stock Exchange Deputation. The project is entrusted to Antonio Mollari who creates a building inspired by a Greek temple. The facade, in fact, has a portico of four columns supporting a triangular tympanum adorned with a clock with the sides of the figures of Fortune and Fame, both winged. In the lower part of the facade there are four niches in which are placed the statues representing Europe, America, Asia and Africa, dating back to the nineteenth century and made by different artists. At the first floor, alternating with the windows are the statue of Mercury and that of Vulcan. Finally, the 19th century sculptures by Antonio Bosa depicting Minerva, Danube, Neptune and the Genius of Trieste are placed on the balustrade. Above the entrance there is a plaque with a Latin inscription from Labus. Inside, on the floor, there is a nineteenth-century sundial that signaled the noon thanks to the ray of sunshine that passed through a hole on the wall. The ceiling of the central hall was frescoed by Giuseppe Bernardino Bison with the episode of the recognition of Charles VI of the city's free port. The palace remained the seat of the stock exchange until 1844, the year in which it was transferred. From that moment, until today, the building is the seat of the Chamber of Commerce.
The palace was built by the architect Emilio Bressler, but with a completely different purpose. From the early twentieth century until 1926 it hosted the "Gran Restaurant Dreher" (originally located on the ground floor, then on the top floor).
On all the guides of the early twentieth century the restaurant is mentioned among the most luxurious and interesting in the region: it was equipped with ... "19 dining rooms that can accommodate up to 2000 people, with an American covered garden and lift ..." .