THE ENVIRONS AND THE TRIESTE COAST
	On the Colle di Gretta (Gretta Hill), architect Arduino Berlam erected the impressive 70-meter-high Faro della Vittoria (Lighthouse of Victory) in white Istrian stone. On top of the lighthouse is a scaled dome on which a bronze winged Victory stands. The sculpture was made by Giovanni Mayer, and at the foot of the lighthouse is the anchor of the "Audace", the torpedo-boat destroyer from which the first Italian soldiers landed in 1918. The part of the coast called Riviera di Barcola runs below the lighthouse. It is a splendid promenade by the sea where international regattas take place every year and where many people bathe in the summer. It is one of the favourite and most frequented parts of the town. The Castello di Miramar (Miramar Castle) stands out at the end of the Riviera di Barcola, snow-white and surrounded by the sea, whose waves break against the rock of the basement. Miramar, the "love nest" of Maximilian of Hapsburg and Charlotte of Belgium, was built between 1856 and 1860 by architect Carl Junker on the will of Maximilian himself. Here the prince and princess, still hesitant facing the choice between a retired life and their court duties but already prepared to take on the honour and burden of the Mexican crown, lived a short happy period. Here the visit of the Mexican delegation marked the starting point of that process which was to lead both of them to a tragical ending, which drew a veil of romantic melancholy over the castle. It subsequently became Amedeo of Aosta's residence and, from 1943 to 1954, the headquarters of foreign military troops. Now the castle is a museum entrusted to the Sovrintendenza ai Monumenti (Monuments and Fine Arts Service) and its halls are open to the public. The park surronding the castle is also wonderful, especially owing to the variety of trees that Maximilian himself chose and planted, which are now an invaluable heritage. Many picturesque corners can be found, such as the pond of the swans and that of the lotus flowers, the Castelletto with Maximilian's bronze statue in its proximities, and the small chapel where there is a cross made with the wreck of the "Novara", the flagship with which Franz Josef's brother sailed from Miramar to be crowed Emperor of Mexico. Now in the park with its "natural" background, "Light and Sound", a performance recalling the tragical story of Maximilian and Charlotte, and the "Passeggiate Musicali" (sort of Promenade Concerts) of the Opera Giocosa del Friuli Venezia Giulia are held. Beyond the Park of Miramar, a sea-life park protected by the WWF, and the expanse of water in front of it, is the Baia di Grignano (Grignano Bay), on the bottom of which the bronze statue of San Giusto by Tristano Alberti lies as a memory of the martirdom of the patron saint of the town. A bit farther, beyond the small harbour of Santa Croce and the Marina d'Aurisina, there is the splendid Sistiana Bay, and then the castle of Duino protrudes from the rocks jutting out over the sea. It is the private residence of the Prince of Torre e Tasso, and part of it is used to lodge the United World College. It may be visited on exceptional occasions only. The ruins of the ancient stronghold, the "Dama Bianca" (White Lady), can be reached much more easily; it can be seen from the sea and is thought to have been built in the XII century. The Rilke path runs along the ridge; it was named after Rilke, the German poet of Austrian origin who wrote the Duino Elegies during his stay in the castle and had chosen the path as his favourite promenade. It runs from Duino to Sistiana among woods and rocks and, with landscape of rare beauty, it offers the opportunity to visit an incontaminated environment where the peregrine falcon makes its nest. "Unde per ora novem, vasto cum murmure montis, It mare praeruptum et pelago premit arva sonanti". This is the passage of the "Aeneid" where Virgilius describes the Timavo, the tumultuous river which, after meandering underground, finds its outlet a few meters from the national road nr.14, near the small old Chiesa di San Giovanni in Tuba. Like all places of historical interest, the Foci del Timavo (Mouths of the Timavo) are particularly suggestive, especially after the recent archaeological findings in the area. The Timavo river springs at the piedmont of Mount Nevoso. It is an absolutely normal river down to the small village of San Canziano, where it gets down deep into a chasm, starting its way underground for over 35 Km., the which has inevitably stirred the imagination of our forefathers. Going along the coast from Trieste to the border between Italy and Yugoslavia, visitors come across Muggia, a charming small Venetian town looking on to the gulf, with a historical centre enclosed by medieval walls. The castle erected in 1375 by Patriarch Marquando of Randeck towers over the town. Among the festivals which mark the social and cultural life of the ancient town, the most impotant one certainly are the Carnival of Muggia, full of colours, and the extremely interesting Teatro dei Ragazzi in Piazza (Children Theatre in the Streets). The Carnival turns the grey of the winter into lively colours, transforming the old little harbour full of fishing-boats and pleasure crafts into a small Rio. The Children Theatre, on the other hand, is a merry kermess which takes place every July, attracting an enthusiastic crowd of grown-ups and children alike to the streets and squares of Muggia. The town has its own gastronomical traditions with Venetian and Istrian influence. Dishes are mainly based on fish and flavours are generally delicate. It is nice to walk along the narrow streets and charming corners, which are really picturesque. On the hill overlooking the dock there is the small Basilica dell'Assunta, of the X Century, allegedly built on earlier Paleochristian foundations, rich in delicate and at the same time valuable treasures of art, among which the relief moulding of the presbyterial enclosure, the sculptures of the ambo and the Romanesque frescoes of the XIII century.