Square Trg Evrope/Piazza della Transalpina

20 min.

The Walk of Peace crosses the public square shared by Gorizia/Gorica and Nova Gorica, a symbolic place of connection between Slovenia and Italy. The Slovenians call it Trg Evrope, and the Italians Piazza della Transalpina. The square was arranged on the accession of Slovenia to the European Union on 1 May 2004. It is embellished with a mosaic of new Europe which was designed by the artist Franko Vecchiet. Plans for the arrangement of the area around the railway station had already been made by Maks Fabiani, and on the basis of his legacy Romano Schnabl made the architectural solution for this square.
With the opening of the Bohinj Railway, that connected Trieste/Trst with Central Europe, a railway station was built in Gorizia. After World War I the square came under Italy and the railway station lost its role. From 1947 onwards, a green fence on the square acted as the state border between Italy and Yugoslavia. The square became the place of a physical and symbolic connection of Gorizia and Nova Gorica. After 50 years, the fence was removed in 2004. Once again, the square regained its connective role as the only square on the border between the two countries. In 2025 Nova Gorica and Gorizia will be European capitals of culture.

Photos: (1) Leo Caharija, MONG; (2) Schirra/Giraldi, PromoTurismoFVG; (3) Tanja Gorjan, Fundacija Poti miru; (4) Archive of David Erik Pipan