Two for the price of one: a visit to the European Capital of Culture 2025

Crossing the border in just three steps – that’s exactly what you’ll experience when you visit the European Capital of Culture 2025, Nova Gorica in Slovenia and Gorizia in Italy. The two cities, which were separated after the Second World War, now stand as one. In 2025, they will share the title of European Capital of Culture and take us on an exciting journey through the history of their architecture and culture.

There can’t be many cities where you step out of the train station and find yourself standing just a few metres from the border. You get off in Slovenia, cross the Europaplatz in a few steps and arrive in Italy. It brings to life the dream of a united Europe, but the history behind it has more than its fair share of drama. The border was drawn overnight by the Allies after the Second World War, sometimes even cut right through private houses and gardens, and depending on the quirks of fate, the next day people found themselves in either Italy or communist Yugoslavia. The beautiful Secession style Austrian railway station now stands somewhat forlorn, as there are no other historic buildings to be found in Nova Gorica. It’s no wonder, as the city was only built on the area behind the railway tracks in 1948. Ordered by Tito himself, it was created on the drawing board and designed to be the true socialist answer to the capitalist West. A model city that was to show how community with a socialist face finds expression in architecture.

A garden city with Mediterranean flair

Finally dispelling the myth of the ​‘divided city’, centuries-old Gorizia, once dubbed the ​‘Austrian Nice’ with its boulevards and aristocratic palaces, has been part of Italy since the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Nova Gorica, on the other hand, is a separate, young municipality on the Slovenian side with a very unique character. A bronze model of the master plan can be admired on one of the main roads, and on closer inspection it is clear that this ideal does not quite correspond to reality. Only a small portion of the originally planned building complexes and streets were constructed. The reason: Tito was expelled from the association of bloc states due to his resistance and Yugoslavia soon ran out of money. Nevertheless, it is easy to see what the architect Edvard Ravnikar, a former student of Jože Plečnik and Le Corbusier, had in mind as the city planner responsible for the project: a Mediterranean garden city with lots of open spaces, airy and spacious, with numerous promenades and wide pedestrian zones, shops and restaurants, office and residential areas, and, in some cases, underground access roads to separate traffic from everyday life. These were visionary approaches that still offer residents a high quality of life today, albeit in a prefabricated aesthetic that takes some getting used to. The representative buildings, such as the theatre, the library and the town hall designed by the renowned architect Vinko Glanz, also reveal that Nova Gorica was planned on a larger scale. Today, they stand like giant guardians that surround a green meadow in the centre of the city. A curious feature that makes local residents very proud. The unfinished and approximate nature of the city is also part of its local character. After all, a university was opened in the 1980s, bringing new residents and new life to the city. At the same time, the city also focused on casino tourism. New hotels and huge entertainment venues turned Nova Gorica into the Little Las Vegas of Slovenia; the city enjoying the benefits of its border town status.

‘Go! Borderless’ – a call to go beyond borders

Life on the border, a key part of the region’s identity, is now also a significant theme of the European Capital of Culture. The art of smuggling is the subject of particularly ironic commentary, as the illegal movement of goods has seemingly flourished in both directions. People travelled from Yugoslavia to Italy with cheap meat and returned with coffee and blue jeans – often cleverly packaged and disguised. A small smuggling museum right on the border now documents the techniques and tricks used in transport. However, the main focus is on finally breaking down the borders that still exist, at least in people’s minds. ​‘Go! Borderless!’ is the motto of the Capital of Culture; its aim is to promote intellectual and cultural exchange, which is why some events are also taking place on the Italian side of the border. Visitors can stroll through old Gorizia and discover historic buildings such as the Palazzo Lantieri.

But it is the area surrounding Nova Gorica that really leaves you feeling a sense of boundless joy. The old orchards of the Viennese court, the Vipava Valley and Goriška Brda (the Slovenian part of Collio) are breathtakingly beautiful and ideal for long walks. Here, too, you will come across numerous art initiatives supported by the Capital of Culture. The Art Circle, for example, is staging a group exhibition in the magnificent Renaissance villa in Vipolze and inviting 20 winemakers to present 40 artists over the summer. With vineyards on both sides of the border, the winemakers have always known how to overcome borders and their heavenly creations show how to combine the best of all worlds. The perfect embodiment of what ​‘Go! Borderless!’ truly means.

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