Duino Castle

Duino Castle is a fourteenth-century fortification located in the village of Duino, near Trieste, Italy, on the cliffs overlooking the Gulf of Trieste. The castle has a rich history, with the ruins of an older castle built in the eleventh century by the Patriarch of Aquileia located on the grounds. In the nineteenth century, it became one of two residences for Prince Alexander von Thurn und Taxis and his wife Princess Marie of the Czech branch of the House of Thurn und Taxis. The castle is also famous for being the place where the Austrian-Bohemian poet Rainer Maria Rilke began to write his Duino Elegies, a collection of ten long, deeply philosophical and mystical poems. Today, most of the castle and its grounds have been opened to the public as a museum and park, making it a great place to visit with family and friends