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Miramare castle
The broken dream
"Miramare: The Italian Park lies with a geometrical order on the promontory, especially levelled; the castle is bleached on the sea, of the stones of Istria in which it has been built; in the park, on the background of the slope of Carso, beyond the regional perfume, the limes of Libano, sequoias arriving from overseas, Chinese glycerines", wrote Archduke Maximilian of Asburg, the youngest brother of Francesco Giuseppe, when at eighteen went through the city to embark on a cruise in 1850.
From Milan to Trieste
Maximilian settled in Trieste arriving from Milan, a city where he was governor, succeeding Marshall Radetzky. He settled in that city after a long and difficult repression followed by riots in 1848. An intellectual man with liberal ideas, he attempted to settle in the capital of Lombardy a conciliatory and open political policy, but was forced to abandon the city with differences of the conservatories of the central government, and settle down in Trieste with the rank of Supreme Capitan of the Austrian Imperial Marines.
The castle construction begins
The job to construct "his" castle began in 1856; Karl Junker was assigned as the architect. At first Maximilian and his newly wedded wife, Charlotte of Belgium, daughter of King Leopold I, lived in the smaller castle; they moved to the ground floor of the castle on Christmas eve of 1860 while on the first floor work was still being done.
The style
The construction was born with stylistic characteristics, typical of the middle 1800’s, that reinterpreted gothic style according to a taste defined as "eclectic" for the use in the same work of art of architectural elements taken not only from gothic art but also Roman and Byzantine.
Maximilian actively participated on the design of his home both for the internal furnishings and the living conditions.
The end of a dream
In 1864, Maximilian gave up the right of succession to the Austrian throne to accept the Crown on Mexico and left with his wife to go overseas. Charlotte came to Europe in July 1866 to implore help from the French emperor and the pope, then returned again to Miramare where she remained for several months in Castelleto and finally left for Belgium. Maximilian was captured at Queretaro by the Republicans of Benito Juarez and ended being shot on June 19, 1867. Charlotte died in 1927 in Belgium. The castle was the residence of the Duke of Aosta from 1931 to 1937; of his stay there are still traces of a studio decorated entirely with furniture of Art Dèco.
VISIT TO THE CASTLE
The inside
The inside of the building is furnished with original furniture of that epoch in the representative rooms and in the apartments of the married couple: one made of wood of the Archduke, who strangely had reproduced the well-proportioned stern of the Austrian ship Novara, in memory of his time spent as Commander of the Austrian fleet; and that of Charlotte where the colour of light blue is in domain.
The park
A botanical expert, the prince wanted the construction of a park of 22 hectares (one of the biggest in northern Italy). To have this done he had the rocky highlands levelled and had them covered again by land refill. Then plants from every part of the world were planted including rare species: notable are two sequoias always green and a group of Lemon-limes from California, and, used for bordering the park for several paths, we can see the Picees of the Himalayas and Caucasus. A part of the botanical garden hosts a pleasurable Italian style garden situated on the large steps that lead toward the sea.
Today, a section of the sea in front of the castle is a Marine Park protected by WWF, where you can dive to truly admire the underwater nature.
Photos property of Tourist Board of Friuli-Venezia Giulia |
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