Cultural Crossroads: Gorizia
City of links, city torn apart. A destiny which seems to repeat itself in this singular Italian location. Gorizia has weathered the centuries between German, Slavic and Latin cultures. Tragedy has left its mark on numerous occasions, the most recent being its partition at the end of the Second World War. Discover why this was for centuries a preferred location, barely 20 km from the sea, for the aristocracies of the Hasburg Empire, often referred to as the 'Austrian Nice'.
 An unavoidable presence for many kilometers around, the Castle (XIth century) has always been the focal point of the habitat. It is also the demarcation from its Slovene twin, Nova Gorica. The structure is mainly furnished with Renaissance, baroque and XVIIth century artifacts: from furniture to paintings, ceramics and armor. Whether in the Sala del Conte, in the chapel or in the prisons, the atmosphere of centuries past is genuine. On the top floor, aside from the panorama which we can all guess, another surprise awaits in a multimedia room dedicated to the examination of the history of Gorizia.
 The medieval burg is a compound within protective walls and has maintained many original structures, today housing traditional museums (ethnographica; or archeological) and contemporary ones (Fashion and applied arts).
Facing is the Duomo, a structure of medieval origins as its crypt attests. The other church of note is Sant'Ignazio, started at the end of the XVIIth century as a rampart against the spread of Protestant heretics, and its picturesque middle-european onion-shaped spires.
 Noteworthy palazzi include city hall (Palazzo Attems-Santa Croce), the provincial museum's quarters (Palazzo Attems-Petzenstein), Palazzo Lantieri, Palazzo Coronini Cronberg and Palazzo Cobenzi.
Of great cultural importance is the Santa Chiara religious complex which houses the Tesoro di Aquileia, an inheritance of numerous works of art spanning the Middle Ages to the end of the XVIIIth century. Finally, the remains of a ghetto behind palazzo Attems are best represented by the Synagog and its didactic 'Little Gerusalem' Museum.
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