Duino ( sl, Devin, german: Tybein) is today a
seaside resort
A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the Germ ...
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 Sea) ...
coast. It is a ''
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'' of
Duino-Aurisina
Duino-Aurisina ( sl, Devin-Nabrežina, german: Thübein-Nabreschin, also ; vec, label= Triestine, Duin-Aurisina) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Trieste in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Lying near the border with ...
, a municipality (''
comune
The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...
'') of the
Friuli–Venezia Giulia
(man), it, Friulana (woman), it, Giuliano (man), it, Giuliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_t ...
region of northeastern
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. The settlement, picturesquely situated on the steep
Karst
Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...
cliffs of the
Gulf of Trieste
The Gulf of Trieste ( it, Golfo di Trieste, sl, Tržaški zaliv, hr, Tršćanski zaljev, german: Golf von Triest) is a very shallow bay of the Adriatic Sea, in the extreme northern part of the Adriatic Sea. It is part of the Gulf of Venice an ...
, is known for
Duino Castle
Duino Castle ( it, Castello di Duino, german: Schloss Duino, sl, Grad Devin) is a fourteenth-century fortification located in Duino (municipality of Duino-Aurisina), near Trieste, Italy, on the cliffs overlooking the Gulf of Trieste.
Building ...
, perpetuated by the poet
Rainer Maria Rilke in his ''
Duino Elegies
The ''Duino Elegies'' (german: Duineser Elegien) are a collection of ten elegies written by the Bohemian-Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke. He was then "widely recognized as one of the most lyrically intense German-language poets", and began t ...
''.
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. Although equivalents of the Slovene name appear in various Slavic languages (cf.
Slovak ''
Devín
Devín (, hu, Dévény, german: Theben) 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 cha ...
'',
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
''
Dziewin'', etc., all ultimately derived from Slavic ''*děva'' 'girl'), the name of this settlement is not originally Slavic. Instead, it derives from
Romance
Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to:
Common meanings
* Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings
* Romance languages, ...
''tubīnum'' < Latin ''tubus'' '(water) pipe'.
History
![Peninsula near castle Duino](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Peninsula_near_castle_Duino.JPG)
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. W ...
s of the
Patriarchs of Aquileia
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...
, 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 (; Bisiacco: ; fur, Monfalcon; sl, Tržič; archaic german: Falkenberg) is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Gorizia in Friuli Venezia Giulia, northern Italy, located on the Gulf of Trieste. Monfalcone means 'falcon mountain ...
along the coast to the
Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...
n peninsula. Serving as ''
ministeriales
The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a class of people raised up from serfdom and placed in positions of power and responsibility in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire.
The word and its German translations, ''Minis ...
'' of the
Counts of Gorizia
The County of Gorizia ( it, Contea di Gorizia, german: Grafschaft Görz, sl, Goriška grofija, fur, Contee di Gurize), from 1365 Princely County of Gorizia, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. Originally mediate ''Vogts'' of the Patriarchs of ...
and also of their successors, the
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
archdukes of
Inner Austria
Inner Austria (german: Innerösterreich; sl, Notranja Avstrija; it, Austria Interiore) was a term used from the late 14th to the early 17th century for the Habsburg hereditary lands south of the Semmering Pass, referring to the Imperial duchi ...
, they secured their position in the
Friuli
Friuli ( fur, Friûl, sl, Furlanija, german: Friaul) is an area of Northeast Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity containing 1,000,000 Friulians. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli Venezia Giulia ...
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) were an Italian noble family who rose to prominence in Lombardy during the 12th–14th centuries, until they held the lordship of Milan before being ousted by the Visconti.
History
The family originall ...
(''
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 temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
had become a fashionable seaside resort on the
Austrian Riviera
The Austrian Riviera ( German: ''Österreichische Riviera'', Italian: ''Riviera Austriaca'', Slovene: ''Avstrijska riviera'', Croatian: ''Austrijska rivijera'') was a term used for advertising the seaside resorts on the Adriatic coast of the Au ...
. Notable guests included Emperor
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the Grand title of the Emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg m ...
and
Empress Elisabeth
Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian ...
, Archduke
Maximilian I, his consort
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
, and Archduke
Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.
Fr ...
, as well as
Eleonora Duse,
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
,
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, mus ...
,
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
, and
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
.
![Miramar2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Miramar2.jpg)
After
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the dissolution of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire, Duino became part of the
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...
. 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, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
-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 ( sl, Slovenci ), are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovene as their n ...
and 25.1% were
Italians
, flag =
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, population =
, regions = Italy 55,551,000
, region1 = Brazil
, pop1 = 25–33 million
, ref1 =
, region2 ...
(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 northern Italy and Yugoslavia, facing the north part of the Adriatic Sea, under direct responsibility of the United Nations Security Council in the aftermath ...
(1947–1954), however, its ethnic composition changed considerably, as many
Istrian Italians
Istrian Italians are an ethnic group from the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic region of Istria in modern northwestern Croatia and southwestern Slovenia. Istrian Italians descend from the original Latinized population of Roman Empire, Roman Istria#Early h ...
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 town has been home to
UWC Adriatic
United World College of the Adriatic (''UWC Adriatic'' or ''UWCAd'' ) is a part of the United World Colleges, a global educational movement that brings together students from all over the world with the aim to foster peace and international un ...
, an international school attended by students from 80 countries, and one of the 17
UWCs around the world.
Notable people
Notable natives and residents include the Slovenian economist
Ivan Ples (1886–1958), composer
Hrabroslav Volarič (1863–1895), and the Italian Jesuit philologist
Gregorio Alasia de Sommaripa
Gregorio is a masculine given name and a surname. It may refer to:
Given name
* Gregorio Conrado Álvarez (1925–2016), Uruguayan army general and de facto President of Uruguay from 1981 until 1985
* Gregorio Álvarez (historian) (1889–1986), A ...
(1587–1626), who compiled the first Italian–Slovene dictionary in 1601.
Duino is noted for being the place where the physicist
Ludwig Boltzmann
Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann (; 20 February 1844 – 5 September 1906) was an Austrian physicist and philosopher. His greatest achievements were the development of statistical mechanics, and the statistical explanation of the second law of thermodyn ...
committed suicide in 1906. It is also the place where the well-known
Slovene folk legend ''Lepa Vida'' takes place.
See also
*
Aurisina
Aurisina (until 1923 ''Nabresina'', sl, Nabrežina) is a town in the karst part of the comune of Duino-Aurisina (Slovene: ) near Trieste, Italy, in a region of Slovene minority. It lies 15 kilometres northwest of Trieste, and according to th ...
*
Sistiana
Sistiana ( Slovene: ''Sesljan'') is a village in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, in the far northeast of Italy near the Slovene border. It is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Duino-Aurisina.
Geography
The village lies north-west of Trieste
Triest ...
*
County of Gorizia and Gradisca
The Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca (german: Gefürstete Grafschaft Görz und Gradisca; it, Principesca Contea di Gorizia e Gradisca; sl, Poknežena grofija Goriška in Gradiščanska), historically sometimes shortened to and spelled " ...
*
Austrian Littoral
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