Duino Castle and the Rilke Path
The cliffs of the Carso over the sea
On the coast north-west of Trieste, where the Carso plunges into the Adriatic with high white limestone cliffs, stands the Castello di Duino, perched on a promontory overlooking the sea, which has belonged for centuries to the princes of Thurn und Taxis, who still live there. Built in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries on the remains of a Roman watchtower, the castle is surrounded by terraced gardens with a view of the gulf, and its rooms, open to visitors, preserve furniture, paintings, a Palladian staircase and memories of the illustrious guests who stayed here, above all the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, who in 1912 began here his famous "Duino Elegies", inspired, according to tradition, by a voice he heard in the wind while walking on the cliffs. Below the castle, on a rock, stand the ruins of the Old Castle, linked to the legend of the "Dama Bianca", a lady thrown into the sea by her husband and transformed into a rock.
From Duino starts the Sentiero Rilke, a panoramic path about 1.7 kilometres long, flat and easy, which runs along the edge of the cliffs to the bay of Sistiana, through Mediterranean scrub, holm oaks and pines, with breathtaking views over the sea and the castle. The path crosses the Riserva Naturale delle Falesie di Duino, which protects the cliffs and their rare flora and fauna, including birds of prey. Along the way, viewpoints and benches invite you to stop and contemplate the gulf, as Rilke did.
Tip: walk the Rilke Path at sunset, from Sistiana to Duino; then visit the castle and its gardens.
Where it is
More things to see in Friuli Venezia Giulia
Where to stay near Duino Aurisina
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