Castello di Gorizia

Igor Waltritsch, 37, from USA, wrote:

Nestled in the midst's of green country, in a delightful valley at the foot of the Julian Alps and the Karst, Gorizia, because of its exceptional geographical position as a meeting point of races, has always been a center of conflicting views, concords, and clashes. The name Gorizia derives from a topographical feature of the place (in Slovene "gorica" names "small mountain"). The name therefore refers to the castle hill on which a prehistoric Castelliere was built and where later a Roman lookout tower was added. The earliest traces of the existence of this terraced settlement surrounding the castle date from the 10th century when the Emperor Otto III granted it to the Conti del Friuli (Counts of Friuli). From then onwards it belonged to the noble family Eppenstain, whose origins were German. From 1117 the castle was for four centuries the residence of the Conti di Gorizia, a powerful family who in the 13th century succeeded in expanding the territory from the Tyrol and the Carinthia to Trevigiano and even as far as the borders with Croatia. In 1500, when the last member of that family died, Gorizia came into possession of the Hapsburg monarchy to whose fortunes and misfortunes it remained tied, except for a brief period of the Venetian domination and Napoleonic occupation, until he end of World War I when it became Italian. At the end of World War II Gorizia remained Italian but as a result of that disastrous conflict it was forced to submit to the division of the province and the border with ex Yugoslavia running right through the city itself.

Brayden, 25, from USA, wrote:

The castello was cool thanks 4 letting me see it I would love to see it some time in my life thanks again

Gianfranco Segala, 55, from Texas, wrote:

Want to see my city again on the computer. No comments

Nate Myers, 17, from Florida, for the time being, wrote:

I actually became quite enchanted with this castle. I had a few opportunities to visit it and Gorizia itself. If you're looking for something different, I suggest you stray off the beaten path into Gorizia. The city itself has a unique situation since half of it is in Italy and the other in Slovenia. Therefore, there is a mixture of Byzantine, East European and the typical Italian styles you would see in a city with so much history. The castle is surrounded with trees, pasture, along with natural and cobblestone trails. You can look off into the city in the rather open tower at one end of the castle, and tour the remants contained in it. There's just too much history, so it's definitely a must see.

Karina, from USA. wrote:

This castle is from the 14th century along with a chapel a few years later. It is in the old part of the city with houses just as old. It is made of stone and even has oubliets and dungeons. It has some furniture mostly recreations. Along the sides it has a very long hallway with windows all along side it to view the adjacent country side and grape orchards for wine (vino).