by Nina Vaclavikova
The Castello di Duino, a centuries-old residence overlooking the Gulf of Trieste, has introduced a permanent exhibition that reimagines key moments of its history through large-scale Lego installations.
The project, titled “Pieces of History: The Castle of Duino Tells Its Story in Lego Bricks,” includes seven displays integrated into the visitor route. In the castle’s stone-walled “Grotta” room, a reproduction of a portrait of Princess Marie von Thurn und Taxis is built from more than 34,000 bricks, creating an effect that mimics painted brushstrokes.
Other installations include a 22,000-brick model of the Palladian staircase, a life-size figure of poet Rainer Maria Rilke composed of 80,000 bricks, and a full-scale reconstruction of the castle itself using more than 130,000 bricks. Additional scenes depict historical and symbolic moments, including the 1954 Duino Pact and the Bora wind along Trieste’s waterfront.
The exhibition was commissioned by Prince Dimitri della Torre e Tasso and developed with the French creative studio Epicure Studio. According to the organizers, the project required about 18 months of work.
The castle, which received roughly 69,000 visitors in 2025, has seen increasing international tourism, particularly from Austria, Germany, and neighboring Central European countries.
The initiative is part of a broader effort to broaden the site’s appeal by combining historical interpretation with contemporary visual storytelling.
