On the way back to Trento from Trieste, we started our Sunday morning with a stop at the Castle Miramare, which is just about 5km outside of Trieste, along the coast. We spent the morning touring the inside of the castle (which was alright, but not a stupendous visit), walking around the exterior of the castle (which was nice), and strolling the surrounding park (which was beautiful). After a bite to eat, we drove on back in the direction of Trento and stopped in Aquileia, an old town full of ancient Roman ruins. The most impressive site in the town is the Basilica, where, in the early 1900s, a mosaic floor dating from the 300s was discovered under the church floor. This was a really impressive and really expansive set of story-telling mosaics, and it was definitely worth stopping to see. The church also housed some lovely frescoes. Across from the church were some Roman ruins, including excavated private homes with more mosaic tiled floors. We also walked a bit out of the main part of town to see the ruins of the forum; the lovely pictures of columns that end this post are taken there.
