The Carso and the gulf
A plateau of perforated rock that ends in a sheer drop to the sea, with more caves beneath it than roads on top.
The Carso is a limestone plateau running from Duino to the Slovene border and ending, on the seaward side, in cliffs up to two hundred metres high. The rock is permeable: water does not stay on the surface but digs, and the result is sinkholes, swallow holes and a world of caves. The Grotta Gigante, above Trieste, has a single chamber a hundred and seven metres high.
On the surface the landscape is dry and low, of heath and of black pines planted a century ago. In autumn the sumac turns it red, and that is the season when walking it repays most.
The two castles and the path
At Duino there are two castles: the old one in ruins on the spur and the new one, still lived in, with its garden open. Between them runs the Rilke path, a kilometre and a half of level walking along the cliff edge with the gulf below. It is one of the easiest and finest walks in the region.
The osmize
The osmiza is a custom two hundred and forty years old: for a short period each year a family may sell its own wine and cured meats at home, without opening a business. You recognise it by the ivy branch hung on a pole at the crossroads, and it has neither sign nor menu. You eat what there is, sitting on a bench, and you pay very little.