Duino Castle

Duino Castle, locally known as Castello di Duino, lies in the coastal village of the same name, in the province of Gorizia in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in Italy.

There are two castles at this site, both built on rocky spurs of the Kars mountain range, jutting into the Gulf of Trieste. The northern one is the predecessor of the other. Known as 'the Old Castle,' it dates back to the 11th century. It belonged to the patriarchy of Aquileia. It is now in ruins and cannot be visited.

I visited the younger one. Called 'the New Castle,' it was built in the 14th century on the orders of the Waldsee family. It was built on the ruins of a Roman military outpost called Castellum Pucinum, which Emperor Diocletian visited in the 3rd century.

In the 15th century, the castle was nearly completely destroyed by the Turks. In 1483, its owner, Ramberto III of Waldsee, died, and the castle passed to the House of Austria.

After falling into Venetian hands, the castle was reconquered in 1508 by Emperor Maximilian, who donated it to Giovanni Hofer. The square keep was built in the 16th century.

In the 17th century, the castle passed to the princely Von Thurn und Taxis family, whose descendants still own and live in the castle.

From the 17th century up until the 20th century, this family hosted many renowned guests at their castle, including Johann Strauss, Franz Liszt, Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sissi), the Habsburg Archduke Maximilian and his bride, Charlotte of Belgium, the Counts of Chambord, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, Mark Twain, Rainer Maria Rilke, and, more recently, the British Prince Charles.

During World War II, the castle was used by the Germans, who, in 1943, constructed a bunker in the rocks next to the castle to defend the nearby naval base of Sistiana against a possible Allied attack. After the war, the British used the bunker as a fuel store. The bunker can be visited and houses a small museum.

A small part of the castle, the bunker, and the gardens can be visited for a small fee. This is a nice castle with ties to a lot of European history, and it offers great views!

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