The Miramare Castle was built in white Istrian stone between 1856 and 1860 as the residence of Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg and his wife, Princess Charlotte of Belgium, who fell in love with the rugged beauty of the Grignano promontory, at the time almost devoid of vegetation, so much so that he decided to build a castle that was to follow the lines of the coast, scenically embracing it.

Today under the Ministry of Culture, the recent innovations of the Museo Storico e il Parco del Castello di Miramare include the restoration of two extraordinary locations part of the museum complex, reopened to the public in 2023 and protagonists of a guided tour that explores both: the Historic Kitchens and the Castelletto, the first building built within the complex to house Maximilian and Charlotte while waiting for the Castle to be completed.

Miramare is a unique place that connects contemporaneity with the rich cosmopolitan heritage of the fascinating border area in which it stands.

(Andreina Contessa, Museum Director)

The visit begins in the historic kitchens, which are accessed from outside the Castle near the small port from which food supplies arrived. The evocative rooms are divided into the entrance, the old cellar, the large room with the cast iron kitchen, cutting edge for the time with spargher burners specially brought from London, and the pastry shop where cakes, tea and coffee were prepared.

The rooms are set up with walls decorated with a rich collection of porcelain partly from the Richard Ginori factory, directed in those years by Gio Ponti, dating back to the time, starting from 1932, in which the Castle became the residence of the dukes Amedeo and Anna d’Aosta.

The kitchens also contain some lithographed menus thanks to which we can learn about the dishes of a typical late 19th century dinner, that is, a sequence of French haute cuisine dishes in which refined preparations such as aspic and pâté, shellfish and oysters, English plumpudding and fruit and coffee jellies were never missing.

Among the wines, the vast assortment of the archducal cellar included different varieties of champagne and chablis, so much so that, on display, we can still see jugs and glasses produced by the prestigious Viennese glass and crystal factory founded in 1823 by Joseph Lobmeyr.

From the side door of the kitchen, you can see the beautiful iron spiral staircase and the dumbwaiter that served the service staff to reach the master rooms on the upper floors.

From the kitchens, taking a pleasant walk through the park of the Castle and its panoramic belvedere, you reach the romantic Castelletto (chatelet) which is accessed from a beautiful portico, in spring surrounded by wisteria.

While on the ground floor you access the Museum’s concept store and various small rooms, it is by climbing the stone staircase that you arrive at the most evocative rooms of the Castelletto: the private apartments once inhabited by Massimiliano and Carlotta whose decorations partly come from Villa Lazarovich, the couple’s first residence in Trieste.

The first room you come across is the Sala Fiamminga with an original black wood boiserie on whose panels are painted compositions of flowers and fruit in memento mori style.

The next room, the Moresco Sitting Room, is truly original. Following the fashion of the time and Maximilian’s many trips to the Middle East, it is decorated with Ottoman motifs in red, blue and gold. Originally, it was richly furnished with sofas and oriental-style objects, such as festoons of ropes hanging from the ceiling from which ostrich eggs hung at different heights.

The other two rooms, the Bedroom and the Nordic Room, are characterized by rich wood paneling and two wonderful majolica stoves and overlook the Grignano marina and the terrace from which Maximilian could follow the construction work of the Castle.

This is the enchantment of Miramare: from whichever direction you turn you are enveloped by the magic of the sea that surrounds it, that deep blue charm that had bewitched Maximilian of Habsburg and that never fails to make dream every visitor to this magnificent museum, among the most exciting in the world.

The Secret

The Miramare Castle is immersed in a large 22-hectare park, the result of the visionary intervention conducted over many years by Maximilian of Habsburg on the karst promontory of Grignano, originally almost completely devoid of vegetation, with the aim of creating an experimental station for the forestation and acclimatization of rare botanical species.

Useful Info

Museo Storico e il Parco del Castello di Miramare
Viale Miramare
34151 Trieste
Tel. +39 040 224143

Entrance fee:
Castle + temporary exhibitions: 12 euro
Guided tour of the Castelletto + Historic Kitchens: 7 euro, tours depart every day at 2 pm (reservation recommended, which can be separated from the visit to the Castle)
The Park is freely accessible from the entrances of Viale Miramare, Grignano and Via Beirut
Consult the Museum’s social media for the summer events program