CASTELLO DI MIRAMARE

In Old Europe, only the castles of Ludwig II rival the Miramare! Except that he has the Mediterranean as his companion and the peaks of the Dolomites as his backdrop. In short, this castle is fairy-tale and Trieste is very proud of it. It is its most visited monument, although it is about ten kilometres from the city (bus 6).

It was built in the middle of the 19th century as a private residence for Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian - younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph - and his new wife, Charlotte of Belgium. Completed in 1860, it bears the mark of Maximilian's romantic inclinations and his taste for eclectic architecture, combining Gothic, Renaissance and classical elements, which so appealed to the Habsburg nobility. However, the young couple lived little in these places, as Maximilian, who had meanwhile become Emperor of Mexico (1864), was shot in June 1867 by the Republicans in Santiago de Querétaro. Charlotte could not remain alone in this palace where she lost her mind. In the following decades Miramare was used as a holiday residence for other members of the Habsburg family. Franz-Ferdinand stayed there just two months before he too was murdered in Sarajevo. During and after the Second World War, the castle was used by various occupying forces (German, New Zealand, English, American) before returning to Italian control in 1954. The park and the castle were beautifully restored and opened to the public a year later.