Duino and the Sentiero Rilke

Duino (Slovene: Devin) is a hamlet in the Municipality of Duino Aurisina/Devin Nabrežina, on the Adriatic coast between Sistiana/Sesljan and Villaggio del Pescatore, north-west of Trieste. The name is chiefly associated with Duino Castle, still inhabited, and the ruins of the Old Castle next to it, both perched on the edge of the limestone cliffs that drop into the Gulf of Trieste/Tržaški zaliv.

The village is also the end point – or the starting point, depending on which way you go – of the Rilke Path, the 1,700-metre scenic walk that crosses the Duino Cliffs Regional Nature Reserve connecting Duino to Sistiana along the cliff edge.

What to see and why it’s special

Duino Castle. Built in 1389 by Hugo of Duino on the site of an earlier Roman settlement, it has been home to the princes of Thurn und Taxis (Torre e Tasso in Italian) for over four centuries – the same family that ran the postal service in several European states for more than 350 years. Over the centuries it has hosted such figures as Johann Strauss, Franz Liszt, Gabriele d’Annunzio, Mark Twain and Rainer Maria Rilke. Local legend has it that Dante Alighieri also stayed at the castle, as a guest of the Patriarch of Aquileia, and composed some tercets of the Divine Comedy here – an episode handed down as tradition, not as documented historical fact. The castle is open to visitors for most of the year, with seasonal opening times and ticket information published on the official website.

The Old Castle and the White Lady. Next to the ruins of the Old Castle (10th century) lies a white limestone rock that, when viewed from the sea, resembles a veiled female figure: the White Lady. Local legend ties it to Esterina da Portole, the wife of a jealous and violent castellan who is said to have thrown her into the sea from a narrow path along the walls; turned to stone by fright, she became that rock, and at night, the story goes, she steps out of it and wanders the castle as far as the room where her son slept.

The Sentiero Rilke and the Duino Elegies. The path, restored in 1987 by the Province of Trieste and the Municipality of Duino Aurisina, runs almost flat for 1,700 metres along the edge of the cliffs, between Sistiana and Duino, with parapets at the most exposed points. It was here, in the winter of 1912, that Rainer Maria Rilke – a guest of Princess Marie von Thurn und Taxis at Duino Castle – composed the first two of the Duino Elegies (the rest came in the years that followed, until the work was completed in 1922; the Elegies were published in 1923 with a dedication to the princess). The opening line – “Who, if I cried out, would hear me among the hierarchies of angels?” – is where the Corsa della Bora motto comes from: being here is wonderful.

The Duino Cliffs Regional Nature Reserve. Established by Regional Law no. 42 of 30 September 1996, it extends over 107 hectares in a narrow strip of coast where the Central European biogeographical domain gives way to the Mediterranean one – hence the variety of flora and fauna in the area. The cliffs themselves are Cretaceous in origin, formed from the shells of planktonic organisms that settled on the seabed. Access to the Reserve is free, but going down into the strip between the path and the shoreline has been forbidden since 1984, for reasons of protection and safety.

An international college in the castle park. The Duino Castle estate is also home to the United World College of the Adriatic (UWC Adriatic), one of the campuses of this worldwide network of international pre-university schools – a detail that makes Duino a place where people still come and go today, not just a historic site.

How to get there

By car. From the A4 Venice–Trieste motorway, take the “Sistiana” exit (or “Duino-Sistiana”); from the SS14, follow the signs for Duino, then for the castle. Parking in the hamlet of Duino is free: the area near the United World College of the Adriatic, about two minutes’ walk from the castle, is one of the most convenient.

By bus. City bus line 44 operated by Trieste Trasporti, from Piazza Oberdan (Trieste) to Duino, with intermediate stops at Roiano, Barcola, Miramare, Contovello, Prosecco, Santa Croce/Križ, Aurisina/Nabrežina, Visogliano and Sistiana/Sesljan – handy too if you want to get off at Sistiana and walk the Sentiero Rilke to Duino, or the other way round.

By train + on foot. Sistiana-Visogliano station (regional trains), then walk the Sentiero Rilke to Duino (1,700 m, 30–40 minutes).

By sea (seasonal). From late May to September the Delfino Verde, on the Trieste–Monfalcone route, also stops at Duino and Sistiana.

Access to the Sentiero Rilke. Free, all year round. Entrance from Sistiana (next to the Infopoint, up the flight of steps above the Bay of Sistiana – a short walk from the Bora Village at PortoPiccolo, see the dedicated page PortoPiccolo and Sistiana Bay) or from Duino, near the castle.

Duino in the Corsa della Bora

Duino and the Sentiero Rilke are not a backdrop: they are a real stretch of the course for most of the event’s distances.

Family and Half Trail are the first to run the Sentiero Rilke, which starts at km 3 right after the steep initial climb from the White Cliffs of PortoPiccolo, and reach the village of Duino at km 5, where both races have their first refreshment point – a moment tied to the story of the castle, the White Lady and the Duino Elegies.

Borderless and TransKarst follow the same approach – the Sentiero Rilke from km 3, the village of Duino at km 5 – but without stopping: for both races the first refreshment point is further on, at Medeazza. Passing through Duino remains part of the race’s story.

Trieste Ultra and S1 Bora Ultra, which set off in the evening from Trieste Centro, reach the Sentiero Rilke from Contovello in the last stretch before PortoPiccolo – at night, the first time round. The S1 Bora Ultra (116.2 km) is the only race that passes through Duino twice: first at night, together with the Trieste Ultra, then in daylight, after the PortoPiccolo Life Base, when the course goes back through the village of Duino/Devin, with the daytime Cravatte Rosse refreshment point and Duino Castle, before climbing towards Monte Ermada.

An experience to enjoy beyond race weekend too

The Sentiero Rilke can be walked in 30–40 minutes even without a bib, but it is worth coming back to take it slowly: start from Sistiana, a stone’s throw from the Bora Village at PortoPiccolo (see the dedicated page PortoPiccolo and Sistiana Bay), stop on the cliffs to read the opening lines of the Duino Elegies, and finish the walk with a visit to Duino Castle and the White Lady. The best time for the walk is the shoulder season – late spring or autumn – when the cliffs are less crowded than in high summer; in winter, on days of strong bora, the exposed stretch of the path needs more care.

Frequently asked questions about the Sentiero Rilke

For a complete overview of the trails of the Trieste Karst, all year round, see also Trail running in Trieste and on the Karst.