DUINO AND SISTIANA

 
 
 
The village of DUINO , 14km northwest along the coast from Trieste, is dominated by its two castles, the Castello Vecchio and the fifteenth-century Castello Nuovo , seat of the princes of Thurn and Taxis down to the present day. It was in the latter that Rainer Maria Rilke began the great Duino Elegies , a work dedicated to his host, the incumbent princess. Access to the Castello Nuovo is prearranged and granted only to large guided groups (ask at the tourist office in Trieste), while the Castello Vecchio is now just a ruined eyrie above the sea.

A pleasant footpath, the Sentiero Rilke, runs 3km back along the coast to the campsite (May-Sept; tel 040.299.264) at SISTIANA , where there's a large harbour backed by woods, and a beach . Bus #44 and the much faster SAITA bus to Monfalcone run from Trieste's bus station to Sistiana and Duino.