Gorizia 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 . Since 1947 , a twin town of Nova Gorica has developed on the other side of the modern - day Italian - Slovenian border : the entire region was subject to territorial dispute between Italy and Yugoslavia during the period of early development , by the time the boundaries were marked and agreed by both parties , Nova Gorica came to stand on the Yugoslav side . Taken together the towns constitute a conurbation , which also includes the Slovenian municipality of Šempeter - Vrtojba . Since May 2011 , these three towns are joined in a common trans - border metropolitan zone , administered by a joint administration board . Gorizia is located at the confluence of the Isonzo and Vipava Valley s . It lies on a plain overlooked by the Collio hills , which are renowned for the production of outstanding wines . Sheltered from the north by a mountain ridge , Gorizia is protected from the cold Bora wind that affects most of the neighbouring areas . The town thus enjoys a mild Mediterranean climate throughout the year , making it a popular resort . The name of the town comes from the Slovene word " " meaning " little hill " , which is a very common toponym in Slovene - inhabited areas . History . Middle Ages . Originating as a watchtower or a prehistoric castle controlling the fords of the river Isonzo , Gorizia first emerged as a small village not far from the former Via Gemina , the Roman road linking Aquileia and Emona ( the modern Ljubljana ) . The name of " Gorizia " was recorded for the first time in a document dated April 28 , 1001 , in which the Holy Roman Emperor Otto III donated the castle and the village of " Goriza " to the Patriarch of Aquileia John II and to Count Verihen Eppenstein of Friuli . The document referred to Gorizia as " the village known as " Goriza " in the language of the Slavs " ( " " Villa quae Sclavorum lingua vocatur Goriza " " ) . Count Meinhard of the Bavarian " Meinhardiner " noble lineage , with possessions around Lienz in Tyrol , is mentioned as early as 1107 ; as a " vogt " of the Patriarchate of Aquileia he was enfeoffed with large estates in the former March of Friuli , including the town of Gorizia , and as early as 1127 called himself " Graf von Görz " . The borders of the county changed frequently in the following four centuries due to frequent wars with Aquileia and other counties , and also to the subdivision of the territory in two main nuclei : one around the upper Drava near Lienz , the other centered on Gorizia itself . Between the 12th century and early 16th century , the town served as the political and administrative centre of this essentially independent County of Gorizia , which at the height of its power comprised the territory of the present - day regions of Goriška , south - east Friuli , the Kras plateau , central Istria and East Tyrol . From the 11th century , the town had two different layers of development : the upper castle district and the village beneath it . The first played a political - administrative role and the second a rural - commercial role . Habsburg rule . In 1500 , the dynasty of the Counts of Gorizia died out and their County passed to Austrian Habsburg rule , after a short occupation by the Republic of Venice in the years 1508 and 1509 . Under Habsburg dominion , the town spread out at the foot of the castle . Many settlers from northern Italy moved there and started their commerce . Gorizia developed into a multi - ethnic town , in which Friulian , Venetian , German and Slovene language was spoken . In mid - 16th century , Gorizia emerged as a centre of Protestant Reformation , which was spreading from the neighbouring north - eastern regions of Carniola and Carinthia . The prominent Slovene Protestant preacher Primož Trubar also visited and preached in the town . By the end of the century , however , Catholic Counter Reformation had gained force in Gorizia , led by the local dean Janez Tavčar , who later became bishop of Ljubljana . Tavčar was also instrumental in bringing the Jesuit order to the town , which played an important role in the education and cultural life in Gorizia thereafter . Gorizia was at first part of the County of Görz and since 1754 , the capital of the Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca . Regarding ecclesiastical matters , after the suppression of the Patriarchate of Aquileia in 1751 , the Archdiocese of Gorizia was established as its legal successor on the territory of the Habsburg Monarchy . Gorizia thus emerged as an important Roman Catholic religious centre : the archdiocese of Gorizia extended over a large territory extending to the Drava river to the north and the Kolpa to the east , with the dioceses of Trieste , Trento , Como and Pedena subject to the authority of the archbishops of Gorizia . A new town quarter developed around the Cathedral where many treasures from the Basilica of Aquileia were transferred . Many new villas were built conveying to the town the typical late Baroque appearance , which characterized it up to World War I . A synagogue was built within the town walls , too , which was another example of Gorizia ' s relatively tolerant multi - ethnic nature . During the Napoleonic Wars , Gorizia was incorporated to the French Illyrian Provinces between 1809 and 1813 . After the restoration of the Austrian rule , the Gorizia and its County were incorporated in the administrative unit known as the Kingdom of Illyria . During this period , Gorizia emerged as a popular summer residence of the Austrian nobility , and became known as the " Austrian Nice " . Members of the former French ruling Bourbon family , deposed by the July Revolution of 1830 , also settled in the town , including the last Bourbon monarch Charles X who spent his last years in Gorizia . Unlike in most neighbouring areas , the revolutionary spring of nations of 1848 passed almost unnoticed in Gorizia , thus reaffirming its reputation of a calm and loyal provincial town . < br > In 1849 , the County of Gorizia was included in the Austrian Littoral , along with Trieste and Istria . In 1861 , the territory was reorganized as the Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca and granted a high degree of regional autonomy . At the time , Gorizia was a multiethnic town : Italian and Venetian , Slovene , Friulian and German were spoken in the town centre , while in the suburbs Slovene and Friulian prevailed . Although some tensions between the Italian - Friulian and the Slovene population were registered , the town continued to maintain a relatively tolerant climate until World War I , in which both Slovene and Italian - Friulian culture flourished . World War I . Italy entered World War I on the Allied side and conflict with Austria - Hungary began on 24 May 1915 . The hills west of Gorizia soon became a scenery of fierce battles between the Italian and Austro - Hungarian Army . The town itself was seriously damaged and most of its inhabitants were evacuated by early 1916 . The Italian Army conquered Gorizia during the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo in August 1916 , with the front line moving to the eastern outskirts of the town . With the Battle of Caporetto in October and November 1917 , when the Central Powers pushed the Italians back to the Piave River , the town came under Austro - Hungarian control again . After the Battle of Caporetto , the political life in Austria - Hungary resumed and Gorizia became the focus of three competing political camps : the unified Slovene nationalist parties that demanded a semi - independent Yugoslav state under the House of Habsburg , the Friulian conservatives who demanded a separate and autonomous Eastern Friuli within an Austrian confederation , and the underground Italian irredentist movement working for the unification with Italy . At the end of World War I , in late October 1918 , the Slovenes unilaterally declared an independent State of Slovenes , Croats and Serbs , while the Friulians continued to demand an autonomous region under Habsburg rule . Gorizia became a contested town . In early November 1918 , it was occupied by Italian troops again , which immediately dissolved the two competing authorities and introduced their own civil administration . First annexation to Italy . In the first years of Italian administration , Gorizia was included in the Governorate of Julian March ( 1918 – 1919 ) . In 1920 , the town and the whole region became officially part of Italy . The autnomous County of Gorizia and Gradisca was dissolved in 1922 , and in 1924 it was annexed to the Province of Udine ( then called the Province of Friuli ) . In 1927 Gorizia became a provincial capital within the Julian March adiministrative region . During the fascist regime , all Slovene organizations were dissolved and the public use of Slovene language was prohibited . Underground Slovene organizations , with an anti - Fascist and often irredentist agenda , such as the militant insurrectionist organization TIGR , were established as a result . Many Slovenes emigrated to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and to South America , especially to Argentina . Many of these emigrants became prominent in their new environments . After the Italian armistice in September 1943 , the town was shortly liberated by the Slovene partisan resistance , but soon fell under Nazi German administration . Between 1943 and 1945 it was incorporated into the Operational Zone Adriatic Littoral . After a brief liberation by the Yugoslav partisans in May and June 1945 , the administration was transferred to the Allies . Partition and second annexation to Italy . On September 15 , 1947 , the town was incorporated into Italy again . Several peripherical districts of the Gorizia municipality ( Solkan , Pristava , Rožna Dolina , Kromberk , Šempeter pri Gorici , Vrtojba , Stara Gora , Ajševica , Volčja Draga , Bukovica , Vogrsko ) were handed over to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia , together with the vast majority of the former Province of Gorizia . Around a half of the pre - war area of the municipality of Gorizia , with an approximate 20 % of the population , were annexed to Yugoslavia . The national border was drawn just off the town centre , putting Gorizia into a peripheral zone . Several important landmarks of the town , such as the Kostanjevica Monastery , the Kromberk Castle , the Sveta Gora pilgrimage site , the old Jewish cemetery , and the northern railway station , remained on the other side of the border . In 1948 , the authorities of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia ( with president Tito ' s special support ) started building a new town called Nova Gorica ( " New Gorizia " ) on their side of the border . Though a border city , Gorizia was not crossed by the border with Yugoslavia as often erroneously claimed . This image stems mainly from the presence in Yugoslav territory of old buildings once belonging to Gorizia : these include the old railway station of the line that connected the town of Gorizia to the Austro - Hungarian capital Vienna . Although the situation in Gorizia was often compared with that of Berlin during the Cold War , Italy and Yugoslavia had good relations regarding Gorizia . These included cultural and sporting events that favoured the spirit of harmonious coexistence that remained in place after Yugoslavia broke up in 1991 . With the breakup of Yugoslavia , the frontier remained as the division between Italy and Slovenia until the implementation of the Schengen Agreement by Slovenia on 21 December 2007 . Border crossings . The Italy - Slovenia border runs by the edge of Gorizia and Nova Gorica and there are several border crossings between the cities . The ease of movement between the two parts of town have depended very much on the politics of both countries , ranging from strict controls to total free movement since December 21 , 2007 when Slovenia joined the Schengen area . Designated border crossings are ( Gorizia - Nova Gorica ) : Historical demography . The chart shows the historical development of the population of Gorizia from the late 18th century to the eve of World War I , according to official Austrian censuses . The figures show the population of the municipality of Gorizia in the boundiaries of the time . The criteria for the definition of the ethnical structure were changing over the years : in 1789 , only the religious affiliation of the population was taken into account ; in 1869 the ethnic affiliation was also recorded , with Jews counted as a separate category ; in 1880 the category of ethnicity was replaced by the mother tongue , and from 1890 to 1910 only the " language of everyday communication " ( ) was recorded . After 1869 , the Jews were only recorded as a religious community , under the official category of " Israelites " . The data below refer to the population within the current borders of the city : Culture and education . Although the majority of the population identifies with the Italian culture , Gorizia is an important center of Friulian and Slovene culture . Before 1918 , the tri - lingual Gorizia Grammar School was one of the most important educational institutions in the Slovene Lands and for the Italians in the Austrian Littoral . Nowadays , Gorizia hosts several important scientific and educational institutions . Both the University of Trieste and the University of Udine have part of their campuses and faculties located in Gorizia . Other institutes of international renomation from Gorizia are the Institute of International Sociology Gorizia , the Institute for Central European Cultural Encounters and the International University Institute for European Studies . Gorizia is also the site of one of the most important choral competitions , the " C . A . Seghizzi " International Choir Competition , which is a member of the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing . Religion . The majority of the population of Gorizia is of Roman Catholic denomination . The town is the seat of the Archbishop of Gorizia , who was one of the three legal descendants of the Patriarchate of Aquileia ( along with the Patriarchate of Venice and the Archdiocese of Udine ) . Between mid - 18th century and 1920 , Gorizia was thus the center of a Metropolitan bishop ric that comprised the Dioceses of Ljubljana , Trieste , Poreč - Pula and Krk . Several important religious figures lived and worked in Gorizia during this period , including Cardinal Jakob Missia , Bishop Frančišek Borgia Sedej , theologians Anton Mahnič and Josip Srebrnič , and Franciscan monk and philologian Stanislav Škrabec . There are many important Roman Catholic sacral buildings in the area , among them the sancturies of Sveta Gora ( " Holy Mountain " ) and the Kostanjevica Monastery , both of which are now located in Slovenia . Until 1943 , Gorizia was also home of a small but significant Jewish minority . Most of its members however perished in the shoah . An important Evangelical community also exists in Gorizia . International relations . Twin towns – Sister cities . Gorizia is twinned with :