Travel Guide Gorizia

Gorizia is the capital of the province of the same name. It was the capital of the county of Gorizia. The counts, dignitaries of the Empire, were bitter enemies of the Republic of Venice and of the principality of Friuli. With the death of the last heir in 1500, the county came under Austrian rule. Gorizia became part of Italy in 1918, while its eastern part, Nova Gorica, decided to become part of Yugoslavia after the Second World War. Today, a plaque in the center of Piazza della Transalpina marks the border between Gorizia and Nova Gorica, between Italy and Slovenia. It also recalls that from 1947, the square was crossed by a fence, the "Wall of Gorizia", marking the separation between the Western and Eastern Blocs. The wall was dismantled in 2004, the year Slovenia joined the European Union. The Piazza della Transalpina is located on the outskirts of the city (access by bus 1). The historical center of Gorizia is located at the foot of the castle and spreads out around Piazza della Vittoria. It is bordered by the baroque church of Sant'Ignazio, crowned by two bulbous bell towers, and by palaces and houses in pastel tones.