Duino (, ) is today a

seaside resort A seaside resort is a city, resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requi ...

on the northern

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

coast. It is a ''

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' of Duino-Aurisina, a municipality (''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'') of the Friuli–Venezia Giulia region of northeastern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The settlement, picturesquely situated on the steep

Karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

cliffs of the

Gulf of Trieste The Gulf of Trieste(, , , ) is a shallow bay of the Adriatic Sea, in the extreme northern part of the Adriatic Sea. It is part of the Gulf of Venice and is shared by Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. It is closed to the south by the peninsula of Ist ...

, is known for Duino Castle, immortalized by the poet

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was an Austrian poet and novelist. Acclaimed as an Idiosyncrasy, idiosyncratic and expressive poet, he is widely recognized as ...

in his ''

Duino Elegies The ''Duino Elegies'' () are a collection of ten elegy, elegies written by the Bohemian-Austrians, Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke. He was then "widely recognized as one of the most lyrically intense German-language poets", and began the eleg ...

''.

Name

Duino was attested in historical sources as ''Duino'' in 1139, ''Dewin'' in the 13th century, and ''Tybein'' 1370, among various other forms of the name. Equivalents of the Slovene name appear in various Slavic languages (cf. Slovak ''

Devín Devín (, , ) is a borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, located in the Bratislava IV district. Originally a separate village at the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers, Devín maintained its rural character and today, it is on ...

'', Polish '' Dziewin'', etc., all ultimately derived from Slavic ''*děva'' 'girl'). However, another possibility is that the name of this settlement may derive from Romance ''tubīnum'' < Latin ''tubus'' '(water) pipe'.

History

The Lords of Duino,

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

s of the

Patriarchs of Aquileia The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in ...

, were first mentioned about 1150. From their ancestral seat, located on a rock high above the Adriatic Sea, they controlled the trade routes running from the city of

Monfalcone Monfalcone (; Venetian language#Regional variants, Bisiacco: ; ; ; archaic ) is a town and (municipality) in the Province of Gorizia, Regional decentralization entity of Gorizia in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northern Italy, located on the Gulf of Tr ...

along the coast to the

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...

n peninsula. Serving as '' ministeriales'' of the Counts of Gorizia and also of their successors, the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

archdukes of Inner Austria, they secured their position in the

Friuli Friuli (; ; or ; ; ) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autono ...

region. Their Old Castle is today in ruins, while the newer Duino Castle, dating back to 1389, is inhabited to this day and can be visited by tourists. Below the ruins of the ancient castle there lies a white rock projecting into the sea, the ''Dama Bianca'', which resembles a veiled woman and gave origin to many gothic legends. Held by the descendants of the

Della Torre The House of Della Torre (Torriani or Thurn) was an Italian noble family who dominated Lombardy and much of northern Italy between the 12th and 14th centuries. They owned the Lordship of Milan, before being expelled by the Visconti. They were membe ...

('' Thurn'') noble family from the 16th century onwards, the estates were inherited by Marie von Thurn und Taxis (1855–1934) in 1893. A patron of the arts and socialite, she accommodated Rainer Maria Rilke at Duino Castle from 1911 to 1912 and he dedicated his ''Duino Elegies'' to her. By the late 19th century, Duino with its scenic views and

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

had become a fashionable seaside resort on the

Austrian Riviera The Austrian Riviera (German language, German: ''Österreichische Riviera'', Italian language, Italian: ''Riviera Austriaca'', Slovene language, Slovene: ''Avstrijska riviera'', Croatian language, Croatian: ''Austrijska rivijera'') was a term used ...

. Notable guests included Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

and Empress Elisabeth, Archduke Maximilian I, his consort Charlotte, and Archduke Franz Ferdinand, as well as

Eleonora Duse Eleonora Giulia Amalia Duse ( , ; 3 October 185821 April 1924), often known simply as Duse, was an Italian actress, rated by many as the greatest of her time. She performed in many countries, notably in the plays of Gabriele D'Annunzio and Henr ...

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

, Gabriele D'Annunzio,

Paul Valéry Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry (; 30 October 1871 – 20 July 1945) was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. In addition to his poetry and fiction (drama and dialogues), his interests included aphorisms on art, history, letters, m ...

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

, and

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the dissolution of the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

Empire, Duino became part of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

. It was merged into the municipality of Duino-Aurisina in 1928. Until the 1950s, Duino was a predominantly Slovene-speaking village with a sizeable

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

-speaking minority. According to the last Austrian census of 1910, 63.5% of the inhabitants of the town were

Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( ), are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, Slovenian culture, culture, and History of Slove ...

and 25.1% were

Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...

(the rest were either German speakers or foreign citizens). The Italian census of 1921 confirmed the Slovene ethnic character of the town, and even showed an increase of the proportion of Slovene speaking population to 78.4% (mostly as the result of the emigration of Austrians and Germans residing in the town). During the years of the

Free Territory of Trieste The Free Territory of Trieste was an independent territory in Southern Europe between Italy and SFR Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia, facing the north part of the Adriatic Sea, under United Nations Security Council Resolution 16, direct responsibility of ...

(1947–1954), however, its ethnic composition changed considerably, as many Istrian Italians fleeing from Yugoslavia settled in Duino. Today, Duino is a predominantly Italian-speaking town, with a Slovene-speaking minority. Most signs are written in both languages, and the municipality of Duino-Aurisina is an officially bilingual one. Since 1982 the village has been home to

United World College of the Adriatic The United World College of the Adriatic (also known as ''UWC Adriatic,'' ''UWCAd,'' or in Italian, ''Collegio del Mondo Unito dell'Adriatico)'' is an international school in Italy, and a member of the United World Colleges, a global educationa ...

, an international school attended by students from over 80 countries, and one of 18 UWCs around the world.

Notable people

Duino is noted for being the place where the physicist

Ludwig Boltzmann Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann ( ; ; 20 February 1844 – 5 September 1906) was an Austrian mathematician and Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist. His greatest achievements were the development of statistical mechanics and the statistical ex ...

committed suicide in 1906. It is also the place where the well-known Slovene folk legend ''Lepa Vida'' takes place.

References

External links

Official Website of the Municipality Duino-Aurisina (Italian, Slovenian)

United World College of the Adriatic - Duino
{{Authority control Frazioni of the Province of Trieste Former municipalities of Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Name

History

Notable people

See also

References

External links