Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1911, a melancholy and windswept winter stay which produced the
Duino Elegies
. To get
here, take bus 41 from Trieste's Piazza Oberdan.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Gorizia
POP 36,000 / ELEV 86M
Considering its serene modern incarnation, you'd never guess the turmoil of Gorizia's
past. An oft-shifting border zone throughout much of its history and the scene of some of
the most bitter fighting of WWI's eastern front, it was most recently an Iron Curtain
checkpoint. The town's name is unmistakably Slovenian in origin and before the outbreak
of WWI it was not uncommon to hear conversations in several different languages - Ger-
man, Slovenian, Friulian, Italian, Venetian and Yiddish - in the main square.
Gorizia's appeal today lies in its aristocratic ambience, its unique Friulian-Slovenian
cooking and its easy access to surrounding countryside, famed for its wine and rustic res-
taurants.
Sights
Borgo Castello
( 0481 53 51 46; Borgo Castello 36; adult/reduced €3.50/2.50; 10am-7pm Tue-Sun)
Gorizia's
main sight is its castle, perched atop a knoll-like hill. It has some convincing re-creations
and a fine wood-panelled great hall. Beneath the main fortress huddle two oddly paired
museums. The tragic, gory history of the WWI Italian-Austrian front is explored at the
Museo della Grande Guerra
including a to-scale re-creation of a trench. Then there's fashion:
19th- and early-20th-century finery at the
Museo della Moda e delle Arti Applicate
. The price
covers entry to Borgo Castello, the Museo della Grande Guerra and the Museo della Moda
e delle Arti Applicate
CASTLE
Piazza Transalpina
One for cold war kids. The Slovenian border - a mere formality since December 2007 -
bisects the edge of Gorizia, and you can celebrate Schengen with a bit of border
hopscotch at this piazza's centre, while contemplating the now crumbling fences, border
posts and watchtowers.
HISTORIC SITE
