The Timavo River originates from karst springs in the foothills of Monte Nevoso and flowing on the surface for about forty kilometers to Škocjan, where it is engulfed by a sinkhole. In that point began his underground pathway in the karst plateau, for a linear distance of 37 kilometers and it come out to San Giovanni di Duino from three big springs and a few smaller pools. The water then flows into a single groove that flows into the sea after two kilometers path. Evidence of human presence in the area around the Timavo springs are dated back to the Neolithic age. Near the springs stands the beautiful church of San Giovanni of Duino, rebuilt after the severe damage suffered during the war of 1915-18.
San Giovanni di Duino has been the scene of various battles during the Great War so, as a consequences, there are many relics in memory of the fallen and of the deeds of Italian soldiers. Next to the new church of St. John stands the herm of the Third Army, and nearby a bronze group depicting wolves, reminding the symbol of infantry regiments 77 and 78, the Brigade “Wolves of Toscana”. Below, on the cliff, have been reported the Virgilio verses describing the sources of the Timavo.