by Sara Del Sal
Museo Storico of Miramare Castle has welcomed an addition to its extraordinary cultural heritage: from 16th of April, and 160 years after the archducal couple’s departure from the small port of Miramare towards Mexico, it is possible to view the prestigious golden scepter that belonged to Charlotte of Belgium, during her time as Empress of Mexico.
Once loved and inhabited by Charlotte and for the first time open to the public, the Oriental Sitting Room of the Castle will host the magnificent jeweller’s work of art, 22 karat gold, symbol of prosperity and wealth of the Mexican empire.
The invaluable gift commissioned to seal the dedication of the city of San Juan del Rio to the Empress, is also a reliquary, which contained a copy of a dedication act still preserved alongside the scepter.
Provided to the museum thanks to the CRTrieste Foundation’s free loan, the historical artefact represents an important testimony of the Mexican experience of the sovereigns Ferdinand Maximilian of Habsburg and Charlotte, about which so little is still known.
Interview: Andreina Contessa, Director of the Museum of Miramare
