Description of the attraction
Duino Castle, located a few kilometers from Trieste on the shores of Italy's Adriatic Riviera, has an ancient and very noble history. It was built in the 1300s on the ruins of an ancient Roman outpost on a steep cliff facing the sea. From here you can enjoy beautiful views of the bay, and the castle park, with its WWII bunker and Rainer Maria Rilke trail, provides an insight into the characteristic landscapes of northern Italy.
Duino Castle is a massive structure with a 16th century tower. It was next to this tower that another, more ancient castle once existed, possibly dedicated to the cult of the Sun God. And today Duino is associated with the tragic legend of the White Lady. This name was born from the snow-white rock, which is visible from the sea and which has the shape of a woman wrapped in a long veil. According to legend, the evil king threw his wife from this cliff, and the sky, pityed by the girl's dying screams, turned her to stone before she touched the water. It is said that every night the White Lady emerges from the cliff and wanders through the rooms of the castle until dawn.
For the past 400 years, Duino Castle has been the property of the Von Thurn und Taxis princes who live there. Since 2003, on the initiative of the owners, most of the castle has been open to tourists who can view a rich collection of works of art and historical relics.
Once upon a time, the mysterious poet Rainer Maria Rilke stayed in this castle, who wrote here his first two Duino's Elegies. In memory of this event, a sightseeing path with a length of about 2 km was named after the poet. Opened after restoration in 1987, it stretches along a steep cliff from Duino to the Gulf of Sistiana, striking with its views. Just a few steps from the trail, there is a castle park with ancient trees, lawns and flower beds. One of the attractions of the park is a bunker from the Second World War, which was turned into an original museum in 2006. This bunker was knocked out of the rock in 1943 by the Germans to protect the Gulf of Sistiana from Allied attacks.
