Part of the Habsburg realm until 1918, Trieste blends Italian style with Austro-Hungarian tradition. Ironically, these coffee shops here were the focal point for Trieste’s irredentist movement, such as Café Tommaseo, opened in 1830- still a gathering place for intellectuals and artists. Caffè San Marco was destroyed in 1915 by the Habsburg army (for printing fake passports for dissidents) but restored after the conflict to its former Austro-Hungarian glory, now with a library for literary talks. Even Vienna’s Café Sacher has an outpost here, complete with its signature indulgentcake.