Hello guys,

I am now going to show you the “Rilke Trail“.
This trail starts in Sistiana (near the Tourist Information Center) and it ends in the city of Duino.
Depending on how fast you walk, I think it should take you 40 minutes to 1 hour to arrive at the end of that trail.

If you have a car, leave it in the parking lot.
The trail starts just behind this tiny cabin.
For the first 400 meters, the trail goes along the fence of a camping site named “Camping Village Mare Pineta”.
It is quite big and a large number of tourists go there in the spring and in the summer.

As you’ll be walking in the direction of Duino, you’ll realize that is is quite cool to walk along the cliff.
If you look down, you’ll see the beach of Sistiana and its marina, Portopiccolo and the Castle of Duino.

The Rilke Trail and the bay of Sistiana have an interesting story.
During WWI, the Austro-Hungarian army built military emplacements on the cliff to monitor the movements of ships in the gulf of Trieste.
More than 2 decades later, during WWII, the bay of Sistiana became the base for pocket submarines
of the German Navy and the Austro-hungarian fortifications that were built in WWI were adapted by German soldiers as anti-aircraft emplacements.
Today, the military emplacements have been converted into panoramic points.

Towards the end of the trail, you’ll see very well the Castle of Duino.
I don’t know if you’ll be able to see it from the trail, but there is a tiny beach down the cliff just below the castle.
You will see it very well if you go visit the castle.

At the end of the trail, you’ll see a large garden surrounded by wooden fences.
This garden is attached to a building just next to it.
Many tourists do not pay attention to it but this place is quite unique in Italy.
It is the United World College of the Adriatic or Collegio Del Mondo Unito Dell’ Adriatico in Italian.
It is part of the United World Colleges, which is a global educational movement that brings together students from all over the world.
About 200 students between the age of 16 and 19 (coming from more than 80 countries) attend this school in Duino for 2 years.
There are 17 UWC schools and colleges in the world.
Only excellent students can apply for these schools.
If your child is a brilliant teenager under 16 and has very good marks at school,
let him/her know that there is a very excellent school in Duino with a 2 years internationally recognized pre-university programm.

If you walk (to the right) along the wooden fences of the school garden, you’ll go down a little alley that will lead you to the main road.
Turn left and walk 100 meters to reach the entrance of the Castle of Duino.
Needless to say …visiting this beautiful castle is a MUST.

 

My tips for the Rilke Trail:

1/ Leave your car at the parking lot near the T.I.C
2/ Be careful when you walk, it can be very slippery.
3/ Take time to watch the sea and the bay of Sistiana from above.
4/ Go visit the Castle of Duino.