Duino Castle

The two castles are the main attraction: the older, dating back to the eleventh century, is in ruins, while the newer is inhabited to this day and can be visited by tourists.

Duino (Devin in Slovenian, Tybein in German) , a small tourist village 20km from Trieste, in the coastal part of the Municipality of Duino-Aurisina, lying in the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia in the province of Trieste in north-east Italy.

The total population is recorded as 8,753 (males 4,281, females 4,472, number of families 3,753), the population density (per square kilometre) as 193.8, and housing units as 3,983.

It is noted as the place of death of the physicist Ludwig Boltzmann, and for the Duino Elegies of Rainer Maria Rilke.

There are two castles at Duino: one, still inhabited, has medieval parts that give it a fortified appearance; the other, on a cliff overlooking the sea, is in ruins. This, the earler castle, occupies a site whose natural features make it extremely well-defended. A steep rocky outcrop is linked to the mainland by nothing more than a narrow and low saddle of land.

Below the ruins of the ancient castle, there lies a white rock projecting into the sea, the Dama Bianca, which resembles a veiled woman and gave origin to many gothic legends.

The new castle of Duino is approximately dated to about the year 1400, when the family Wallsee commanded the construction of a strong fortress. Over time, the Wallsee family disappeared and the castle, after having been used as a prison, became the residence of the Luogar and Hofer. At the end of the 19th century, it became property of the Prince of Thurn and Taxis, as it remains today.

Since 1982, the town has been home to the United World College of the Adriatic, an international school attended by students from 80 different countries.



Private Residence of the Princes of the Tower and Rate (von Thurn und Taxis)
On the Monfalcone - Trieste road
Opening Hours:
Mar-Sep: Wed-Mon 9.30am-5.30pm
Oct: Wed-Mon 9.30am-4.30pm
Nov-Feb: Sat & Sun 9.30am-4pm
In winter the castle is open in weekends only.
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Duino Castle is open to the public. The owners have decided to open the gardens and most of their Castle home to the public for tours, conferences, art exhibitions, concerts, gala dinners and other events. Set out on to number of levels, the gardens display fines-coloured beds and cascades of all types of flowers, forming attractive splashes of colour amid the classical Mediterranean vegetation and acting as to backdrop for to wealth of statues and an old well decorated with the family coat of arms.



The differences between early medieval and late medieval castles generally became less obvious as a result of constant rebuilding as well as restoration. At Duino, in contrast, the distinctive characteristics of the older and the newer buildings have been preserved. The building of the new castle not only left intact the form and dimensions of the old one, but the change of site is indicative of the reasons that led to the abandonment of the security of the cliff.

Duino, a small tourist village 20km from Trieste, is dominated by its 700 year-old medieval castle. Built on a promontory overhanging the sea, the building is a collage of different architectural styles in a stunning setting, surrounded by a magnificent garden.

Book for cheap flights to castle tours. Visit the 700 year-old medieval castle, Castle of Duino.
A famous legend has it that a medieval lord of the castle threw his wife out of a window at the top of one of the towers. The ghost of the White Lady apparently still haunts the castle and people say that light can be seen from outside on stormy nights... Click here for Cheap Flights