Duino Castle

Description

The Castle of Duino, owned by the Princes of Torre and Tasso, was erected during the 14th century on the ruins of a Roman military outpost. The massive complex with its composite architectural style overlooks the Gulf of Trieste. During the 17th century it began to acquire its status as a cultural and humanistic centre, one that it maintains to this day. It has hosted a number of prestigious guests: Elisabeth of Austria (Sissi), the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the Counts of Chambord, Johann Strauss, Franz Liszt, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, and the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, who composed the first two of his famous “Duino Elegies” while staying at the Castle.
It is possible to visit more than 18 rooms of the Castle, full of testimonies telling the long history of the family of the Princes della Torre e Tasso. Not to miss: the Palladio Staircase (a masterpiece of architecture!), the 1810 forte-piano (played by Liszt!) and the stunning seascape that one has from the bastions above the sea as well as from below the Diocletian tower dating back to the 3rd century AD.
The park is set up on different levels and displays extensive cascades of flowers of many types that form splashes of colours within the classical Mediterranean vegetation. You will be able to see many statues across the park, as well as an ancient well with the family crest.
The Bunker of the Castle of Duino has an area of 400 square metres and is 18 metres deep. It was constructed in 1943 by the forced-labour organisation TODT for the German navy to defend the naval base of Sistiana against a possible Allied attack. The Bunker was used as air-raid shelter for the people of Duino, before it was armoured with a cannon by the Germans. From 1945 to 1954, it was used by the Brits as a fuel store.