Castello di Duino
The new castle of Duino, with its memories of German poet R. M. Rilke, who wrote his Duino Elegies there, was first documented in 1363, when two fortresses were mentioned: the old or lower and the new or upper. A previous and older fortress, Castellum Pucinum, must have existed on the site back in Roman times, since it was mentioned by Pliny the Elder. The lower castle, built in the 11th century, was originally a feudal holding of the Patriarch of Aquileia; from the 14th century a property of the Dukes of Austria, it passed to the Counts of Duino and was eventually sold to the Barons of Waldsee. Having witnessed many military events, it was almost completely destroyed by the Turks in the 15th century. In 1483, on the death of Rambert III of Waldsee, the feudal domain and the upper fortress returned to the Dukes of Austria. Fallen into Venetian hands, the castle was recaptured in 1508 by Emperor Maximilian, who gave it to Giovanni Hofer. Following the marriage of Lodovica Hofer to Raimund VI von Thurn, the castle passed to the Princes Thurn und Taxis (Torre e Tasso), whose heirs still reside in the castle.