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The Miramare Castle (Italian: Castello di Miramare; German: Schloss Miramar) is a 19th century castle, built for Austrian Archduke Maximilian and his wife, Charlotte of Belgium, on the Gulf of Trieste near Trieste, northeastern Italy.

The job to construct "his" castle began in 1856 to 1860 to a design by Karl Junker on the orders of Archduke Maximilian.

Maximilian settled in Trieste arriving from Milan, a city where he was governor, succeeding Marshall Radetzky. He settled in that city after a long and difficult repression followed by riots in 1848. An intellectual man with liberal ideas, he attempted to settle in the capital of Lombardy a conciliatory and open political policy, but was forced to abandon the city with differences of the conservatories of the central government, and settle down in Trieste with the rank of Supreme Capitan of the Austrian Imperial Marines.

The castle is preserved in its original condition and reflections of Maximilian's love of the sea are everywhere.

At first Maximilian and his newly wedded wife, Charlotte of Belgium, daughter of King Leopold I, lived in the smaller castle "Castelletto"; they moved to the ground floor of the castle on Christmas eve of 1860 while on the first floor work was still being done.

The style

The construction was born with stylistic characteristics, typical of the middle 1800’s, that reinterpreted gothic style according to a taste defined as "eclectic" for the use in the same work of art of architectural elements taken not only from gothic art but also Roman and Byzantine.

Maximilian actively participated on the design of his home both for the internal furnishings and the living conditions.

The end of a dream

In 1864, Maximilian gave up the right of succession to the Austrian throne to accept the Crown on Mexico and became Maximilian I of Mexico, left with his wife to go overseas. You can see everywere his insigna: a pineapple.

Charlotte came to Europe in July 1866 to implore help from the French emperor and the pope, then returned again to Miramare where she remained for several months in Castelleto and finally left for Belgium.

Maximilian was captured at Queretaro by the Republicans of Benito Juarez and ended being shot on June 19, 1867. Charlotte died in 1927 in Belgium.

The castle was the residence of the Duke of Aosta from 1931 to 1937; of his stay there are still traces of a studio decorated entirely with furniture of Art Dèco.