The white fairytale castle, surrounded by a green and lush park, is built at the behest of Massimiliano d'Asburgo-Lorena between 1856 and 1860, fascinated by the impervious beauty of the promontory of Grignano, a rocky outcrop on the cliff.

The archduke personally followed the progress of the castle and the vast park, an English and Italian garden, embellished with numerous rare plants and ponds, which descends in broad steps towards the sea.

The complex is strongly influenced by an eclectic style as a revisited construction of a medieval fortress: models taken from medieval, gothic and renaissance periods are combined in a wonderful fusion, implementing a synthesis of perfect union between nature and art, Mediterranean fragrances and austere forms European.

In this "love nest" the prince and his wife, Carlotta of Belgium, spend happy moments before sailing to Mexico in 1864, a nation of which Maximilian will become emperor but where, soon after, he will lose his life.

Subsequently it was the residence of the Duke Amedeo d'Aosta and during the war period the seat of foreign military commands, the castle is now used as a museum.

You can visit more than 20 rooms: of particular value are the "Sale di Massimiliano", including the library-study, the bedroom furnished as a cabin of a ship and the magnificent "Sala del trono", recently restored and restored to the ancient splendor.

Among other things, not far from the entrance gate to the park, there are the Scuderie, currently the exhibition venue, the Castelletto and the numerous sculptures that decorate open spaces and paths that allow walking through a varied environment of great botanical interest.