Antiche Serre (Old Greenhouses) in the Miramare Castle Park

The Antiche Serre date from the creation of the Miramare park, when Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg had the castle built and the surrounding gardens laid out. Their construction ran from March 1856 to the autumn of 1860 to plans by Carl Junker, the Viennese engineer who also designed the castle, as well as works on the Aurisina aqueduct and the railway between Ljubljana and Trieste.

The greenhouses met a precise need: to shelter species that would not have survived the winters outdoors and to protect them from the north-easterly winds, at a time when the trees planted in the park did not yet provide cover. They also served as a nursery and temporary shelter for the rare species Maximilian brought back from his long voyages, notably his journey to Brazil and the expedition of the frigate Novara. Maximilian dreamed of a citrus grove evoking a Mediterranean garden, a project the climate, harsher than today's, did not allow at the time.

The castle archives document later changes, including in 1931 under Duke Amedeo of Savoy-Aosta. The original glazed roof was replaced in an earlier intervention by galvanised sheeting. A conservative restoration led by the architect Carlo Manfredi ended with the inauguration of 4 July 2024.

The building is a partly subterranean masonry construction in which sandstone blocks alternate with bricks, topped by architectural elements in white limestone. The design is simplified and echoes that of the neighbouring castle, and reflects the horticultural knowledge of the mid-nineteenth century: the aim was a structure in which plants sensitive to the local climate could be acclimatised.

The covering has changed in nature. It was first glazed, then replaced by galvanised sheeting in an earlier intervention, and then by zinc and painted-metal panels, according to accounts of the inauguration. Maps and documents kept in the castle archives attest to the building's existence and its successive alterations.

The 2024 restoration preserved the external appearance and the integrity of the materials while adapting the place to present-day use: electrical and water connections, a lift platform for moving potted plants, underfloor radiant heating and UV lamps to compensate for the shade of the park's trees. The sources consulted do not give the building's dimensions.

The restored greenhouses now hold citrus collections, which realises, more than a century and a half later, the Mediterranean grove that Maximilian had in mind. According to local press, they include seven varieties of mandarin (among them Avana Apireno, Keraj, Tachibana and De Wildt), nine varieties of lemon (among them Eureka, Ordinario Fiorentino and Meyerii) and twelve further varieties of orange and other citrus.

The selection and botanical qualification of the varieties were entrusted to the architect Giorgia Ottaviani and the agronomist Anna Chiara Vendramin.

Before the restoration the greenhouses had sheltered and nursed the park's rare species, brought back by Maximilian from his travels, notably in Brazil and on the Novara expedition. The historic park around them extends over 22 hectares around the castle.

The Antiche Serre stand in the historic park of Miramare, close to the Orangerie, the MiraLab building, the recently restored Castelletto and the ruins of the chapel. They are discovered during a walk through the park, which covers about 22 hectares on the Adriatic shore.

Allow half a day to combine park and castle: the historic museum in the castle, Maximilian's residence, completes the story of the greenhouses and the plant collections. Interior access to the greenhouses was not confirmed in the sources read, so it is worth checking with the museum before visiting.