Territorio Libero di Trieste (Italian) Svobodno tržaško ozemlje (Slovene) Slobodni Teritorij Trsta (Croatian) Слободна Територија Трста (Serbian)
The Free Territory of Trieste was an independent territory in Southern Europe between northern Italy and Yugoslavia, facing the north part of the Adriatic Sea, under direct responsibility of the United Nations Security Council in the aftermath of World War II. For a period of seven years, it acted as a free city.
The territory was established on 10 February 1947, by a protocol of the Treaty of Peace with Italy, to accommodate an ethnically and culturally mixed population in a neutral independent country. The intention was also to cool down territorial claims between Italy and Yugoslavia, due to its strategic importance for trade with Central Europe.