GORIZIA

Revealing the presence of the ancient Austrian aristocracy, who used to come down here to avoid the harsher winter months, Gorizia welcomes you with its sumptuous villas, the cafés on the main thoroughfare, the wide tree-lined avenues and the large number of parks and gardens. From the hill top on which the Medieval Castle sits, you can enjoy a stunning view over the city, with its fine Piazza della Vittoria and the church dedicated to St. Ignatius, with its distinctive onion-shaped bell towers. The city was heavily damaged during the First World War, and it is the ideal starting point for those who want to retrace the hard-fought battles that took place along the river Isonzo. In the neighbouring area, you can follow the numerous war paths with trenches and communication tunnels. Not to be missed is a visit to Piazza della Transalpina, where you can still see traces of the local “Berlin Wall”, which divided the city between Italy and Slovenia (once part of Yugoslavia).