The castle stands on the Miramare promontory overlooking the sea near Grignano Bay, a few kilometers from the city. Maximilian of Habsburg-Lorraine, Archduke of Austria and Emperor of Mexico, built it in 1855.
It is said that Maximilian of Habsburg-Lorraine, Archduke of Austria and Emperor of Mexico, took shelter in the small port of Grignano in 1855 following a storm and was fascinated by the promontory of Miramar, "mirar el mar" in Spanish. Remembering the castles overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, the Archduke was inspired by the location to build the castle as his home.
and his wife Charlotte of Belgium, and entrusted the project to engineer Carl Junker. Construction began on March 1, 1856, and was completed in 1871, costing around 600,000 florins. Miramare Castle was built in white Istrian stone in an eclectic style combining Neo-Gothic and Medieval Revival. The client and the architect were inspired by the "Romantic History" movement, developed in those years by Theophilus Hansen at the Vienna Arsenal and the Villa Pereira, just north of the imperial capital.
It consists of two buildings connected by a central, set-back structure and a tower located in the area facing the sea. It extends over two floors and a mezzanine, and features battlements along the entire perimeter of the top, specifically commissioned by the Archduke. On one side, the castle overlooks an open space decorated with flowerbeds and a fountain, while the western wing overlooks the marina. Finally, on the side opposite the entrance, it is surrounded by a terrace overlooking the sea.
All’interno, il Castello fu suddiviso in numerose stanze. Il piano terra fu destinato alla residenza della coppia, mentre, quello superiore agli ospiti e alla rappresentanza. Franz e Julius Hofmann realizzarono la decorazione degli interni.I lavori del piano terra terminarono nel 1860 data in cui Massimiliano e Carlotta si trasferirono nel Castello, dopo il decadimento dalla carica di governatore del Lombardo-Veneto, mentre le stanze della rappresentanza terminarono intorno al 1870.Nel 1930, parte del piano della rappresentanza fu adibito a residenza del Duca Amedeo d’Aosta, che vi abitò per circa sette anni e modificò alcune stanze secondo lo stile dell’epoca nonchè sostituì insegne Imperial-Regie con croci sabaude.
The rooms of the Castle also preserve a valuable collection of oriental vases and retain all the original furnishings, including ornaments, furniture and objects dating back to the mid-19th century.
L’arredamento del castello segue per lo più lo stile Biedermaier ma anche rinascimentale e secondo impero che implicavano un maggior uso dell’oro e decorazioni uguali nel soffitto e nel pavimento.
Room XIX is decorated with a series of paintings by Cesare Dell’Acqua depicting the history of Miramare, created with the collaboration of the Trieste historian Pietro Kandler. On April 14, 1864, Maximilian set sail with his wife for Mexico, aboard the Novara, the same ship that would bring his remains back four years later. Before leaving, he left the testamentary provisions in which the Castle was left to his dear Carlotta: “From what is most dear to me, my Carlotta, I take leave with a heart full of gratitude. I feel the need to confess that I owe her infinite happiness; for never has the smallest quarrel divided us, for she has always had a gentle heart towards my mistakes and in all the phases of our eventful life she has had the truest and most faithful love that has filled me with happiness….. “No one knows better than she what was dear to me in life and will honor it; In particular, however, I recommend to you my dear Miramare and Lacroma, of which you already own according to the deed of donation dated Miramare 5 April 1864.”
In Mexico he was crowned Emperor in 1864 and was shot in Querétaro in June 1866.
Castillo de Chapultepe was the home of Maximilian and Charlotte in Mexico and has many architectural and natural features similar to Miramare Castle.
Si racconta che il Carducci durante una delle sue gite a Trieste volle vedere il castello, d′onde l′infelice Massimiliano era partito per l′impero del Messico. Entrò nella stanza di studio dell′Arciduca, costruita in guisa che rassomigliasse la cabina della contrammiraglia Novara che lo trasportò al Messico, vide i ritratti di Dante e del Goethe presso il luogo ove Massimiliano sedeva a studiare; vide aperta sul tavolino un′antica edizione di romanze castigliane; vide incise nella sala maggiore più sentenze latine; queste fra le altre : Si fortuna iuvat caveto tolli – Si fortuna tonat caveto mergi – Saepe sub dulci melle venena latent – Non ad astra mollis e tenuis via – vivitur ingenio, caetera mortis erunt. Quale impressione facesse sul poeta quella visita lo dice l′ode, che subito dopo egli pensò, e della quale scrisse subito queste prime strofe.“O Miramare, a le tue bianche torri attediate per lo ciel piovorno fosche con volo di sinistri augelli vengon le nubi”…
CWith its slender shape and the white of the karst marble standing out against the blue of the sea, the Castle is visible from every part of the city and is one of the most visited castles in Italy.