Gorizia is a town and comune in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia and a local center of tourism, industry, and commerce. Due to its position and its history, Gorizia is one of the points of conjunction between the Romance, Slavic and Germanic cultures. Like the rest of Goriziano, the city falls both within the boundaries of historic Friuli and in those of Venezia Giulia.

Gorizia is located at the confluence of the Isonzo and Vipava Valleys. It lies on a plain overlooked by the Gorizia Hills. Sheltered from the north by a mountain ridge, Gorizia is protected from the cold bora wind, which affects most of the neighbouring areas. The town thus enjoys a mild Mediterranean climate throughout the year, making it a popular resort.

This small area embraces diverse environments and landscapes, as well as many historic and artistic remains bearing the influence of the Germanic, Slavic and Latin cultures. The area’s characteristics are evidence of an uneasy past and the coexistence of different cultures. It is truly unique, bringing together innumerable elements into one beautiful mosaic.

The town has an attractive old centre with pretty, colourful houses lining the streets, arcades below, and shops that attract Italians and Slovenians in equal measure. Many of the houses, and also the cathedral, have been substantially renovated during the last 50 years following extensive damage in the town during the second World War.

Gorizia cathedral dates originally from the 14th century, although it was rebuilt in the baroque style in the 17th century (and rebuilt again with the identical baroque design in the 20th century, after damage in WWI). A more recent building which provides quite a radical contrast to the older buildings is the Post Office, a good example of the architecture in the 1930s.

The Gorizia castle, standing on a hill above the town and dominating views of gorizia, is mostly worth visiting for the views it provides from the castle walls, across the town and surrounding countryside. Dating from the 13th century onwards, the castle comprises several different parts, with small palaces, some remains of early fortifications, a chapel and a museum.

It was also the theatre for ferocious battles during the First World War, leaving indelible traces including trenches, communication tunnels and fortified areas. The cemetery at Sacrario di Oslavia is a poignant reminder of the role the town and region played in the First World War, while the cemetery at Redipuglia dates from the Second World War.

One of the most peculiar sceneries of both Province and Region is that of the Karst plateau, with calcareous rock and rocky tarrain covered with vibrant and colorful Mediterranean vegetation. The Karst is an area of remarkable naturalistic value. The coastline is dominated by the wonderful Grado lagoon, an internationally-renowned touristic destination, with its golden beaches and charming canals that glide among the islands and islets.

This pristine environment is composed of two wildlife areas, making it an ideal habitat for a wide variety of bird species, namely the Valle Cavanata and Foce dell’Isonzo Nature Reserves where, in addition to the birds, Camargue horses live wild. The rich Isonzo Valley is renowned for its excellent wine production and offers a vast expanse of vineyards, picturesque small towns and spectacular views.

Another peculiar landscape is the Collio, land of outstanding Friuli wines: it is a series of hills covered by vines, dotted with small villages like Oslavia, Dolegna del Collio and Cormons.

History
The name of the city probably derives from the Slovenian word gorica, which means hill, referring to the relief on which a castle was built around the 11th century, which was divided by the will of Emperor Otto III between the patriarch of Aquileia and a noble. On that occasion, in 1001 Goriza was mentioned for the first time.

Later the town developed along the western side of the hill. It was the capital of a potentate, very important in the fourteenth century, which began to decline after some military defeats. In 1500 by the will of the last dead count without heirs it passed, after heated disputes with Venice, to the Habsburgs.

Under the various emperors Gorizia suffered some wars with Venice, as in 1615-1617, but above all it experienced a great development, as under the reign of Maria Theresa, when, in the second half of the eighteenth century, the city population increased by a third.

Later it was equipped with the railway, another great stimulus for development. The grand plaza were opened for the occasion, flanked by elegant nineteenth-century palaces and villas with gardens.

Gorizia remained Habsburg until 1918. In the First World War Gorizia was on the front, which destroyed many buildings, including the castle, which was then rebuilt in 1932. On 8 August 1916 it was taken by the Italians. A museum is dedicated to the war in the building of the Provincial Museums.

In 1947 Gorizia, after about 2 years of allied administration, returned to Italy, however, part of the periphery located to the north and east remained in Yugoslav territory. The border crossed a semi-central area of the city, leaving in the Slovenian part, in addition to the aforementioned hamlets, many buildings and structures of public utility.

After the war, Gorizia often compares with Berlin, but in fact the relationship between Italy and Yugoslavia is relatively harmonious. During the 1960s Gorizia started a good neighborly relationship with Nova Gorica, in fact, cultural and sporting encounters have often brought the two cities into contact and united. The presence of a Slovenian community in Gorizia necessarily catalyzed the collaboration.

The Gorizia Montesanto railway station which was located on the Transalpina railway line connecting the “Austrian Nice”, as Gorizia was called, to Central Europe. The square in front of the station, divided between the two nations, since 2004 has been made open to visitors on both sides after the demolition of the Gorizia Wall which occurred with the entry of Slovenia into the European Union. At the center of it there is now a mosaic and a commemorative metal plate that marks the layout of the border between the two states.

On 21 December 2007, Slovenia fully entered into the Schengen treaty and the cities of Gorizia and Nova Gorica are today without interposed borders. The ever stronger bond that unites them has allowed the two cities to start a process of forming a single development pole.

Main Attractions
Gorizia is the place for those visitor who wants to take the time to find the most hidden and evocative corners, can discover wonderful pieces of nature, humble but beautiful works of art and certainly history everywhere. Evaluate the effects of the encounters as clashes of civilizations, and start again, taking with him that feeling of nostalgia that cities that have been important but have fallen into have fallen.

See aristocratic villas built when Gorizia was a holiday resort for moneyed people, see the abandoned factories that tell of when Gorizia was one of the main textile centers, see the sacred furnishings and the works of art of churches that prove that Goriziait was a much more important city also from the ecclesial point of view, etc., it gives a feeling of pleasant nostalgia and, together with the welcoming and cordial character of most of the Gorizia, almost certainly instills in the attentive visitor and patient the desire to return.

The medieval castle is the heart and symbol of the town. From here, the view sweeps over gentle expanses of hills and all of Gorizia, where medieval, Baroque and 19th century architectures harmoniously co-exist. The Hapsburg bourgeoisie loved to stroll through the streets of the town centre, not surprisingly the town was called “the Nice of the Hapsburgs”. Among enchanting parks, such as the Piuma Park on the Isonzo river, the Park of Palazzo Coronini Cronberg (with trees from all over the world) and the Viatori Park.

In Gorizia you will breathe the suspended atmosphere typical of a border city: in the Piazza Transalpina, which until 2004 was physically divided by a wall, you will walk with one foot in Italy and one foot in Slovenia. Thanks to its special geographical location, it has always been culturally influenced by a combination of different civilizations: Latin, Slavic and Germanic. Situated on the eastern border, it has always played a major role in Central Europe. Today its streets, architecture and parks are evidence of the important history of this town.

Culture is very important, many museums worth visiting, some of which are peculiar and curious, such as the Province Museums with the Museum of Fashion and of Applied Arts, the First World War Museum and the Archaeological Collection, the Museum of the Middle Ages in Gorizia inside the Castle. Among the city’s many historical buildings Palazzo della Torre, Palazzo Attems Petzenstein and Palazzo Werdenberg – Biblioteca Statale Isontina (State Library) stand out.

Religious architectures

Gorizia Metropolitan Cathedral (known as Gorizia Cathedral)
Dedicated to the Aquileian saints Ilario and Taziano and elevated to the rank of cathedral in 1752, it is the main ecclesiastical building in Gorizia. Originally it was a simple church, also dedicated to the two saints, probably built between the 13th and 14th centuries and later incorporated into the nearby chapel of Sant’Acazio.

Church of Sant’Ignazio
It is a Baroque building erected between 1654 and 1723 – 1724, which was consecrated only in 1767. While the façade is a synthesis of Austrian and Latin elements, the interior is of purely Latin derivation. It contains valuable paintings and frescoes.

Synagogue of Gorizia
It is located in the area of the old ghetto. Built in 1756, it replaced an oratory temporarily erected in 1699 as a place of community prayer.

Church of San Giovanni
Located in the street of the same name, the church was built in 1580 for private worship by the Dornberg family and was dedicated to St. John the Baptist and to Saints Vito and Modesto. On 19 May 1593 it was consecrated by Bishop Francesco Barbaro (as evidenced by a plaque on the internal wall). In 1615 the church was donated, together with the annexed house, to the Jesuits, who used it as a collegium (much frequented by the inhabitants who came from the neighboring areas and also from the Republic of Venice). When the Jesuits, at the end of the seventeenth century, built a new temple (the aforementioned church of St. Ignatius) and a new collegium(the Verdenbergico, which stood where today there is the state library), left the church of San Giovanni, which at the time was surrounded by a cemetery.

During the nineteenth century some embellishment works were carried out. During the First World War it was significantly damaged. The church has a cross plan and has the central nave, which is surmounted by a cross vaulted ceiling (until 1979 it was decorated with medallions with the effigies of the four evangelists), the apse with the presbytery (which was delimited by a stone balustrade with columns), two side chapels and the choir, above the portal, in which an old organ is placed.

Church of San Rocco
Erected at the end of the 15th century to serve a small agricultural community which arose not far from the ancient city of Gorizia, we have news of it as early as 1497; with the main altar of the small church it was consecrated on the last Sunday of August 1500 by Pietro Carlo, bishop of Caorle. The church building retained the dimensions of a simple chapel until the early seventeenth century when, after the plague of 1623, the burghers decided to expand and embellish it. They called Palma the Younger for the purpose, of which it is possible to admire the altarpiece placed in the apse of the church, where you can see the saints Sebastian andAgostino respectively to the right and to the left of San Rocco, benignly observed by the Madonna. The church and the main altar were consecrated by the bishop of Trieste Pompeo Coronini on 23 August 1637 and from that date the first festival of San Rocco dates back, which still today arouses great interest in the city and throughout Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Other interventions were a Via Crucis by Antonio Paroli from 1750 and the current neoclassical facade, which is due to Giovanni Brisco,1898.

The context is embellished by two other monuments: the central theological seminary, designed by the Benedictine Father Anselmo Werner and now home to the degree course in international and diplomatic sciences of the University of Trieste, and the fountain with the obelisk (inaugurated on 25 April dated 1909) overlooking the church, a gift from a famous bourgeois, the architect Antonio Lasc Bey, who for most of his life was the architect of the Khedivial palaces in Egypt,.

Church of the Holy Spirit
Erected in the historic center of the city, near the castle, commissioned by the Rabattas, a noble family of Tuscan origins. The building, built in the Gothic style between 1398 and 1414, houses a beautiful wooden cross of the seventeenth century (which is a copy, since the original can be admired in the provincial museums) and an Assunta, attributed to Fulvio Griffoni

Church of the Immaculate Conception
Valuable Baroque style building, built in the 17th century near today’s town hall. The church was built between 1647 and 1685 as an example of the “Gorizia Baroque” typically expressed by pomp and refined artistic sense. Although modest in size, the interiors echo the styles of nearby Venice and Vienna. The ‘ Immaculate Conception, with only one nave apse, in the seventeenth century had more side altars and a richly decorated ceiling with floral paintings framed stucco oval representing The Glory of Santa Maria Assunta.

Church Exaltation of the Cross
The chapel, included in the Cobenzl palace complex, seat of the archdiocese of Gorizia since 1751, was built in 1746. The main entrance, surmounted by the coat of arms of the Codelli house, is surmounted by a balcony with a balustrade. The plan of the oval building is marked by pilasters that support a cornice surmounted by a vaulted roof. The hall and the altar, with a white marble tabernacle and the table supported by two statues with angels, are illuminated by a central lantern, the result of a refurbishment dating back to 1878.

Church of the Sacred Heart
In the church there is a large altarpiece behind the altar, made by the painter from Gorizia Galli, which represents the Sacred Heart towering above the altar, surmounted by the radiant host and chalice, with Saint Margaret Mary and Saint Claudio de la Colombière alongside. and under Pope Pius XI who offers the crown of royalty and Monsignor Margotti who presents the model of the church. Several skilled craftsmen embellished this church with their skill; among these the silversmiths Egidio Lipizer and Giuseppe Leban. Also the paintings contained therein and representing Saint Joseph, Saint Francis Xavier, Saint Anthony and Saint Gaetano they were painted by the painter Galli from Gorizia.

Church of the Capuchin Friars
Seat of the convent of the Capuchin friars. The foundation of the convent dates back, at the behest of the Republic of Venice, to 1591; eighteen years later, under the pressure of Archduke Ferdinand, it became the seat of the curia of the commissariat of Styria, which only a year earlier, in 1608, had separated from the Austro-Bohemian province. However, very little remains of the convent, as it appeared in those years. Most of it was destroyed during the First World War and only in 1926 was it built again, this time thanks to the Capuchin friars who had settled there three years earlier.

Church of San Giusto
The origins of the church of San Giusto, consecrated in 1926, are closely linked to the fate of Villa Locatelli, purchased by the Fatebenefratelli from the baroness Carlotta de Hagenauer in 1923. Today, as then, the two structures are in an optimal position with respect to the city center. which is a few hundred meters away, and also from the nearby railway station.

Church of Saints Vito and Modesto
The church was born at the behest of the baron Gian Vito Del Mestri. The first stone of the religious building was laid by the bishop Francesco Massimiliano Vaccano on November 18, 1656, dedicated to San Vito, in honor of its founder. In 1768-69 the church was restored and enlarged with the façade and interior with a Baroque appearance. The church was destroyed in 1916, during the First World War, remaining for several years in full abandonment; it was rebuilt between 1926 and 1928 and rededicated in 1929. In the seventies, with the post-conciliar restructuring, the walnut pulpit, the marble balustrade, the painting of Santa Barbara (now in the church of Santa Maria Regina in via Montesanto) and the ancient stations of the Via Crucis.

Civil architectures

Giuseppe Verdi Municipal Theater
The Teatro di Società was built in 1740 on the initiative of Giacomo Bandeu, the customs contractor for the county of Gorizia, whose methods had caused the bloody revolt of the Tolminotti to explode. The building caught fire in a fire on March 26, 1779 (it is an irony of fate, or perhaps even coincidental coincidence, that the said revolt broke out on March 26, but in 1713). The current theater, rebuilt by Bandeu’s son, Filippo, who entrusted the project to Ulderico Moro from Udine and the fresco to Francesco Chiarottini from Cividale, dates back to 1782. The structure experienced various financial difficulties: it closed already in1797, to reopen in 1799, until in 1810 it was sold to a society of nobles who profoundly changed it in the following years. In 1856, the interiors were repainted, while in 1861 the facade was redone.

It was the site of numerous Italian irredentist actions, including the one for the carnival of 1867 which cost Carlo Favetti 6 years in hard prison. At the end of the nineteenth century it was dedicated to Giuseppe Verdi. After recent renovations, the main cultural building of the city has returned, which were joined during the Second World War by the Auditorium della Cultura Friulana and the two cultural centers of the Slovenian community, the Kulturni Dom (house of culture) and the Kulturni Center Lojze Bratuž (Lojze Bratuž Cultural Center).

Military architectures

Gorizia Castle
Perhaps the best known monument of the city, it stands on the highest point of a steep hill. The manor welcomes visitors with a Venetian lion, which however is not the one that was affixed by the Republic of Venice during the brief occupation of the city (1508 – 1509) but by the fascist government, at the end of a radical restoration, which ended in 1937. With this restoration, which became necessary following the serious damage suffered by the building during the Great War, the previous Renaissance palace, plastered in white, was not restored, but the appearance that the castle of Gorizia probably had in the fourteenth century., at the time of the maximum splendor of the counts of Gorizia, with exposed stone, paying particular attention, however, to reconstruct it with a Guelph battlements, to symbolize the alleged Italian character, instead of the original Ghibelline one, a symbol of fidelity to the Holy Roman Empire. To the west of the castle stands the historic center of the city with the Chapel of the Holy Spirit and the medieval village.

Industrial archeology
Beginning in the eighteenth century, at the instigation of Maria Theresa of Austria, industrialization began in the Gorizia area. This is mainly due to the entrepreneurial spirit of the Ritter de Zahony family, who, following lucky speculations, got rich and was able to invest, opening a factory in Gorizia in 1819 for the refining of cane sugar, in 1839 a modern mill, in 1854 a factory for silk processing, in 1861 a paper mill, in 1868 a dyehouse and in 1880a pulp factory. Not much is now visible, with the exception of the workers’ village of 1871, which has remained almost intact, although it is private houses. In this village there are still two types of housing, those for 1-2 families, and those for social purposes, so to speak, hosting common laundries, a school, meeting rooms. Another noteworthy building is Villa Ritter, which belonged to the same family.

Cultural space
The museums of Gorizia possess an important collection of Antonio Rotta, born in Gorizia and a naturalized Venetian, who was one of the most important representatives of the world of genre painting. Rotta first specialized in the painting of sketches and figures of Venetian genre painting, sometimes tinged with humor, which are the most valuable, and then tried his hand at some historical-themed paintings (Tiziano instructs Irene di Spilimbergo) and sacred. Not satisfied with the results obtained, he turned back to the realism of his favorite subjects, such as the humble or childhood.

Public space

Victory Square
The largest in the city, overlooked by the church of Sant’Ignazio. Here we also find the Casa Torriana, of sixteenth-century origin, today the seat of the Prefecture. Among the many illustrious guests who lived there, there was also Giacomo Casanova, who stayed there in 1773. In the center of the square is the Fountain of Neptune, built in the mid-eighteenth century by the Paduan Marco Chiereghin on a project by Nicolò Pacassi, while in front in the church of Sant’Ignazio there is the Column of Sant’Ignazio, donated by Count Andrea di Porcia and placed here in 1687.

Piazza Sant’Antonio
Bordered by an airy colonnade, which once belonged to the cloister of a convent founded in the thirteenth century – as legend has it – by Saint Anthony of Padua. Two of the most interesting buildings in the city overlook the square, the Palazzo dei Baroni Lantieri and the Palazzo dei Conti di Strassoldo.

Transalpina Square
The Piazza della Transalpina takes its name from the Jesenice-Trieste railway line (improperly called the Transalpina railway in Italian) of which the station located in Slovenian territory is part. This stretch, which was inaugurated by Archduke Francesco Ferdinando in 1906, connects Trieste with Jesenice and then enters Central Europe. In modern times the whole square appears to have been restructured to form a single public space where the free movement of pedestrians is allowed. In place of the central part of the Gorizia Walldividing the square is a circular mosaic and the state border – the physical barrier removed – is now indicated by a line of stone tiles. Following the redesign of the square, it was proposed by Slovenia to rename the area to Piazza Europa Unita, but this proposal was not followed up. Due to its symbolic nature, the area is often used for the organization of international events and events.

Piazza Camillo Benso count of Cavour
Bounded by the linear facade of the Palazzo degli Stati Provinciali, which now houses the Police Headquarters. Built in 1200 and enlarged in the sixteenth century, the palace was the seat of the “fathers of the Gorizia homeland”, the assembly, which included representatives of the nobility, the clergy and the county, who administered the city and its territory for six centuries.. Other ancient buildings overlook the square: the sixteenth-century Casa del Comune, with its characteristic projection on the upper floors, the Gastaldo’s residence; the Casa degli Ungrispach, one of the oldest in the city, in late Gothic style, on whose facade stands a plaque with the date Mccccxli. Note the presence of ancient houses at the entrance of via Rastello.

Edmondo De Amicis Square
The square is dominated by the facade of Palazzo Attems Petzenstein, which was built to a design by Nicolò Pacassi and which was finished around 1754 in the Rococo style. The facade of the building – with a projecting central body and two side wings – culminates with an elegant balustrade decorated with statues. The interior is also impressive, home to the Provincial Museums. In front of the palace there was once the fountain of Hercules, later removed for traffic reasons.

Town Hall Square
In the heart of the city, the square houses the Attems-Santa Croce building, now the seat of the town hall of the municipality of Gorizia.

Piazza San Rocco
Not far from the historic center, the square houses the church of San Rocco, consecrated in 1637 by Pompeo Coronini from Gorizia. In front of the church is the fountain-obelisk inaugurated on 25 April 1909 designed by the architect Antonio Leavec, 8 meters and 10 centimeters high, which is composed of three main parts: the base, the basins and the obelisk.

Cesare Battisti Square
The square overlooks the public gardens where the statue dedicated to the bersagliere Enrico Toti, who died on 6 August 1916 during the sixth battle of the Isonzo, was placed. The monument dates back to 1958 and is the work of the Bersagliere sculptor Mario Montemurro. Enrico Toti is depicted without his left leg, with the classic feathered Bersaglieri hat on his head and the legendary crutch, thrown shortly before dying towards the enemy trenches. The base placed under the statue bears a single sentence, Al Bersagliere Enrico Toti, national hero who died on 6 August 1916.

Nicolò Tommaseo square
Leaving the complex of Palazzo Coronini through the ancient via dei Coronini you reach piazza Tommaseo, where the church originally dedicated to San Giovanni stands, built in 1656 next to the Hospital of the Misericorditi or Fatebenefratelli order by the will of Baron Giovanni Vito of the Mestri. Most of Gorizia continue to call this square with the ancient name of “Piazzutta”, from the Friulian Plazuta, small square, with which it was indicated in the past to distinguish it from the nearby Piazza Grande, today Piazza Vittoria.

Julia Division Square
Initially it bore the name of Piazza Nuova and from 1851 in the center there was a circular fountain with a granite base and a metal plug, from which the inhabitants of the area drew water. Furthermore, starting from 1887, the hay market was held in the square, moved from Piazza Battisti; by virtue of this, the square assumed the vulgar name of piazza del haeno. At the beginning of the twentieth century it became piazza Carlo Bertolini (1827-1899) in honor of the Trentino lawyer and patriot who lived for many years in Trieste and was the first president of the “Pro Patria”, which preceded the “Lega Nazionale”, associations both times to the protection of the Italian character of which he was a staunch defender. On 11 May 1941, the glorious name of the Julia Division was named. Today the fountain is no longer there and obviously there is not even the hay market, and the square, exploited in all its spaces, is reduced to a parking lot overlooked by the scientific high school “Duca degli Abruzzi”.

Cuisine
The cuisine of Gorizia represents the food and wine offer of the homonymous province of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, which encompasses the Julian, Friulian and Slovenian culture. In the Gorizia cuisine there is a fusion of the typical Central European, Friulian and also Trieste cuisine, which influence the Gorizia cuisine making it rich and varied. The typical dishes of Gorizia’s cuisine are cotechino with sauerkraut, goulash and herb omelettes. Typical side dishes are the potatoes in tecia or the fresh one combined with radicchio and beans.

The most characteristic dessert is the gubana. The wines are mainly produced in the area of Oslavia and in the Collio, where the ” Collio Goriziano ” stands out, a wine with a Denomination of Controlled Origin. Gorizia gubana, honey and wines from Oslavia are now brought together under the typical Gorizia products brand.

Also noteworthy is the cultivation of the Gorizia rose, a local variety of radicchio (Cichorium intybus of the sativum subspecies) with a characteristic rose shape, typical of the area and grown mainly in the municipality of Gorizia. Rosa di Gorizia is recognized as a traditional Friulian and Julian agri-food product and as a Slow Food.

Natural space
Gorizia, already known as the Austrian Nice, is striking for the extensive green areas that surround it and that dot the inhabited center. There are numerous parks and public gardens within the city, as well as those surrounding the many nineteenth-century villas. There are also green spaces that have remained in their natural state, such as the Castle Park and Valletta del Corno, which extends between the district of Straccis and the city center, along the course of the Corno stream, where there are also plots of land at destination. agricultural.

Along the course of the Isonzo river there are some parks of considerable landscape value, including that of Piuma-Isonzo, consisting of a river and a wooded hillside, and that of the Campagnuzza, which has a floodplain wood environment. Among the unprotected surfaces, the first stretch of the Isonzo river in the municipal area is particularly impressive, embedded in a gorge from whose walls spring waters gush out, with extremely varied vegetation cover, and the last stretch between the hamlets of Sant’Andrea and Lucinico, characterized by a vast expanse of poplars and willows.

Another wooded complex is that of Mount Calvario, which joins up with that of Mount Piuma of the aforementioned Piuma-Isonzo Park, forming a single body of several hundred hectares and, finally, the area of Mount Sabotino, a pre-Alpine karst relief.

The presence of large wooded areas continues. Worthy of note are the vegetation of Mount San Marco (Mark) and that of Castagnevizza -Panovizza (Kostanjevica-Panovec). Furthermore, the great Tarnova Forest (Trnovski gozd, with an area of several thousand hectares) is less than fifteen kilometers from Gorizia. Also worth mentioning are the Isonzo Park, called Campagnuzza, the public gardens of Gorizia and the Ruins of Villa Frommer with the adjoining park.

Park of the Castle
The park is accessed by turning right under the retaining walls of the road that leads to the entrance door of the castle (coming from the panoramic sidewalk overlooking Slovenia), passing a barrier, leaving the ruined buildings on the right (perhaps the ancient foresterie), and then, heading left, you reach a steel staircase that allows you to overcome the difference in height formed by the surrounding wall. You are then catapulted into the green of the wood composed mainly of locust and maple, field and plane trees, as well as isolated specimens of lime, mulberry, chestnut, ailanthus, hornbeam, and an undergrowth with a rich presence of hazelnuts, elderberries and brambles. The spring blooms, especially of the daffodils, are worth seeing.

The path winds along the slope, and finally you reach a vast clearing, equipped for picnics with wooden tables and benches. Beyond the pitch there is a slight depression, from there it is already in private property. Beyond the depression, it is possible to see, and after about 5 minutes, reach a magnificent wood of about 50 centuries-old chestnut trees: in documents dating back to the end of the eighteenth century the diameters of the trunks of some of them already measured 80 cm, today none of them less than 2m, they guard the top of the hill. It is possible to visit the forest, with bunkers dating back to the Second World War.