Day 37 Miramare Castle
This morning we hit the first Hop On bus and rode it out to Miramare Castle. Well a 20 minute walk from Miramare Castle that is. The shores along here are where locals come to bathe. There is no sand only rocks and people sun bake on flat slabs of concrete or in little partitioned off areas that rent sun lounges. You climb into the water via a ladder.
The castle is positioned well away from the peasants on a point surrounded by beautiful gardens. Its position perfectly captures the soft ocean breezes. Jeanette has dragged me into many castles over the years and if I had to choose one to live in, this one would definitely be it.
The Castle of Miramare and its park were built at the behest of Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg, who decided, around 1855, to have a residence on the outskirts of Trieste that was befitting his rank, overlooking the sea and surrounded by an extensive garden. In 1860 he and his wife Charlotte moved into the completed ground floor while work continued upstairs.
Unfortunately, Maximilian was persuaded by Napoleon III to take on the role of Emperor of Mexico so he left his beautiful and still unfinished home in 1864 and travelled to Mexico. Unfortunately, with the end of the American Civil war in 1865, America threw its support behind the rebel Mexican republicans and pressured the French to withdraw their troops which was the main thing propping up Maximilian’s regime, and he was overthrown and executed by firing squad in 1867.
I can tell you that even without the benefit of hindsight, I would have told Napoleon III to take a hike.
I have previously mentioned the city’s large square. There seems to be an event held on it every day and today was no exception.
The maximum temperatures around here range between 26c and 29c with a very high humidity and we find it necessary to take a bit of a siesta break in the afternoon, remerging around 6pm.
Hardys’ Travels 