Before her family settled in Gorizia, where Maria went to school with school sisters and where she met her future husband, attorney Camillo von Egger, whom she married in 1871. She spoke five languages and taught herself German as well, albeit with much difficulty. Maria inherited her literary talent from both her parents. Her pen name “Lacroma” was a tribute to Archduke Maximilian, later Emperor of Mexico and former owner of Lokrum island, whose attention she enjoyed there as a young child. Nearly all her works have been translated into Italian. As a critic of Italian art and literature she actively contributed to prominent German newspapers, and was well-versed in cultural and historical essays. She was the only woman writer who contributed to the volume published by Szelinski university bookstore in Vienna upon the 50^th anniversary of the Austro-Hungarian emperor’s rule. She won critical acclaim for her history novel set in Roman Aquileia, and her other novels, short stories, and writings on Gorizia’s picturesque landscape were also popular with readers.

Her collection of short stories Bagatele (Trivialities) includes one about the tomb of the Bourbons in the Kostanjevica monastery.

“In count Mattia della Torre’s time there was a hill, overgrown with trees and truly idyllic, whose charm remains equally unique and poetic today. The high dignitary must have found great joy in the solitude of its salutary tranquillity. He would go there to find refuge from the commotion in his castle at the foot of the hill, and to pray in peace, without distractions.”