Sistiana

A bay on the Adriatic Sea Sistiana, in the municipality of Duino-Aurisina, is a quiet location that provides a spectacular view over the Adriatic sea. Surrounded by rich vegetation, it features a varied Karst landscape where maquis, rocky and calcareous masses and beautiful little harbours are perfectly combined.

Sistiana can boast a peaceful and protected bay, a renowned holiday resort in the Austro-Hungarian period. Today, you will find a tourist port, bathing establishments and well-tended and clean beaches. You will also find many restaurants, where you can taste the excellent local seafood.

Nature and history Those who love to walk in nature can follow the about two kilometres of the charming Rilke Path - between Sistiana and Duino - dedicated to the poet Rainer Maria Rilke from Prague, who in 1911-1912 stayed at the castle of Duino, as a guest of the Thurn und Taxis princes, and who in his "Elegie Duinesi" recalls the magnificence of the Karst coast.

Not only sea, in Sistiana, but also history, nature and legends…
Near Sistiana, still in the municipality of Duino-Aurisina, you can visit the resurgences of the Timavo river and in the surroundings stands the Church of San Giovanni in Tuba. According to the legend, Jason arrived at these resurgences with his Argonauts, escaping from the Black Sea with the Golden Fleece, managing to save himself going up the Timavo. It is also said that, along the sources of the river, in the surroundings of the near Mount Hermada, there would have been a sacred forest, the place for sacrifices to Diomedes, after his passage at the end of the war of Troy.