Accommodation
SISSA provides a housing office that will help you find temporary or permanent accommodation in Trieste, and will give foreign students assistance with visiting the apartments (it is quite rare that landlords in Trieste speak English) and the rental contract. To contact it write to , they usually answer within 2-4 days.
In the following you will find some practical advice about the housing situation in Trieste.
First days in Trieste
If you have not yet found a permanent house in Trieste, and need a temporary accommodation for the first days in Trieste, we recommend the following places, which are reasonable in price but a bit out of town:
- ICTP Galileo guest house - To reserve a room you must ask either your Area Secretary (see SISSA staff) or the Students' Secretariat, you mustn't contact them directly
- ICTP Adriatico guest house - To reserve a room you must ask either your Area Secretary (see SISSA staff) or the Students' Secretariat, you mustn't contact them directly
- Youth hostel Tergeste
For more advice, please contact the Students' Secretariat or the Secretary of your Area (see SISSA staff).
Renting a flat in Trieste
Italian and foreign students can normally find accommodation in Trieste within a few days from their arrival. Usually two or three students share a flat, costing from 150 to 400 Euro each per month. If you are not willing to use the SISSA housing service (free of charge) you have many other options. Announcements of rooms or apartments available, or of students looking for fellow students to share, are put on the notice boards on the first, second, fourth floor and in front of the cafeteria at ground floor of the SISSA Main Building. Announcements (in Italian) can also be found by consulting the web site IL MERCATINO, buying a IL MERCATINO magazine from a 'Giornalaio' (newspaper vendor), or you can look up the website [1] be aware that the announcements in both websites and in the magazine are in Italian. You can also take a look to this web site run by the Trieste University (beware of undergrads :D) in which you can find some ads (if you rent a room using this web site you will be charged a fee). It is suggested that you look for flats with a washing machine as laundrettes, with washing machines for the public to use, are not very common and existing ones are expensive. Trieste also has many old buildings without elevators.
It is really rare to have bills included in rents in Trieste and there may be some extra expenses for the maintenance of the building etc. You should make sure that you know what extra charges you are supposed to pay so you can keep within your budget.
Moreover, if the bills are not included in the rent, be aware of the 'estimate system' in Italy: bills are only a rough estimate of how much you might have consumed. Sometimes they may overestimate your consumption and you might find as much as '500 euros' on your bill. Don't panic, just call them or ask an Italian speaking friend to help you. They correct it immediately by checking the exact consumption.
Most important of all you should not forget that a legal rental contract with your signature is compulsory for Permesso di Soggiorno (Permit of Stay) application procedure and it is mandatory for SISSA students to have a legal housing contract to receive 1200 euros of Housing Compensation. A regular House rental contract lasts for at least six months (typically a year) .
