New Year's Eve Trieste

Gorizia, it’s characterized by a very mild climate, it is the perfect destination for your winter holidays on the Alps, especially during the New Year period, when the city is filled with enchanting flea markets.
The city of Gorizia has a very particular and long history: maybe also for this it has a strong identity that has made it possible to earn the title (purely informal) of capital of the Oriental Friuli.
First of all we must say that it is located at the border between Italy and Slovenia, and its position is very strategic: in addition to be crossed by the Isonzo river, Gorizia is in the centre of one of the most important communication means of Eastern Europe, i.e. the meeting point between the Isonzio valley and the Vipacco valley.
Despite its mild climate, also due to the barrier that the Alps form in the north of the city, often Gorizia is subject to the so-called “Bora of Trieste”: but it is precisely thanks to these characteristics of the climate that in the area are produced some of the best and rare wines of Italy.
The old town of Gorizia can be divided into two areas: above there is the Castellano suburb (called also superior land), once upon a time belonging to the Lord of Gorizia; below instead, we find the villa (or the below land), where there was the life of the people, focusing particularly on the agriculture and the trade.
The city of Gorizia, as everyone knows, became Italian territory only after the World War I.
Not everybody knows, however, that during the World War II, Gorizia just as Berlin, was divided into two parts by a wall: a zone remained Italian, while the other became Slovenian and took the name of Nova Gorica.
We start our visit with the highest part, or the superior land: here, on a hilltop that dominates the landscape, we find the castle, a fantastic structure with a pentagonal design, with several towers and high walls.
Inside the castle, which, although has medieval origins, suffered several restorations after World War I,
There are two interesting galleries: the Folklore Museum and the art gallery formed by the contemporary artists works, both Venetian and German.
Inside the castle, also, are organized several initiatives, including concerts, exhibitions and conferences.
Another important structure is the cathedral, also this one largely restored after the wars: it is interesting to visit inside the cathedral, whose facade is modern, some original parts date back to 1600 circa.
Then, to the right of the Duomo (cathedral), we can visit a wonderful Chapel in Gothic style.
Let’s now go to the old suburb: here we can visit the Provincial Museums, which are located within the Dornberg Palace and the Tasso Palace, both historical.
The Provincial Museums display a wide and varied collection, which includes archaeological collections, ethnographic, finds of the two world wars, and also a vast fashion collection.
Still, if you are in Piazza della Vittoria square, you can visit the beautiful St. Ignazio church, important almost as much as the cathedral.
The church, willed by the Jesuits around 1600, has a wonderful facade surrounded by two towers: designed by one of the greatest artists of the late Baroque and Romanesque style that is typically German.
We continue our visit with the historical residences that embellish in great quantity the roads of Gorizia: in addition to the palaces which host the Provincial Museums, we can admire the beautiful Attems-Petzenstein Palace, dating back to 1750 circa. The building is very particular from the architectural level, being characterized by numerous balustrades and many statues, that decorate the main facade.
The palace, which inside is decorated with beautiful frescoes dating back to the XVIIIth century, often hosts temporary exhibitions.
Finally, to absolutely visiti s also Villa Coronini, built in 1594.
In addition to the thirty rooms that form this monumental villa, you can admire also a beautiful chapel of the XVIIth century.
The art gallery is housed in the Villa and contains art works and paintings by artists of the calibre of Bernardo Strozzi, Prospero Fontana, Tintoretto, Rosalba Carriera, Elisabeth Vigèe Le Brun, Rubens and Monet.
In addition to the paintings, you can have a look at the unusual coins collection, gold, porcelain, tapestries and more.
We can finish the visit to the Villa with the wonderful and monumental English park, with its fantastic statues and delightful fountains.