Nova Gorica: How this borderless city duo is celebrating its blended cultures in 2025

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts

Get Simon Calder’s Travel email

Get Simon Calder’s Travel email

Some cities are metaphorically forged on political and historic fault lines; the Slovenian city of Nova Gorica actually exists right on a literal political and historic divide. It is joined at the hip with the Italian community of Gorizia, but separated by an international border. That divide is narrowing this year as both cities share centre stage as the first ever ‘European Capital of Borderless Culture’, joining forces to shout about their charms. And this Slovenian town has plenty to shout about.

Nova Gorica’s setting is deeply dramatic in the foothills of the vaulting Julian Alps. It is the youngest city in Slovenia, a planned urban environment built by socialist Yugoslavia on striking Modernist architectural lines following the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty, which confirmed the new border with Italy. This left the older settlement of Gorizia cut off on the Italian side from the new settlement in Yugoslavia. Nova Gorica (“New Gorizia” in Slovenian) burst into life.

Since 1948 Nova Gorica has grown into being the main urban centre of the Goriska region. Never strikingly negative despite the divisive geopolitics at play, relations between the two communities softened further after Slovenian independence in 1991, and in 2011 Nova Gorica joined its neighbour as part of a new cross border metropolitan zone. The drive towards being heralded under the European Capital of Culture initiative for a year of joint celebration in 2025 has cemented these strengthening connections. Nova Gorica was already a remarkable place before this year. The influence of Italian culture, language and cuisine weaves its way across the border so you get a bit of both countries.

open image in gallery

Slovenia’s Nova Gorica and Gorizia on the Italian side of the border have come together to be a European Capital of Culture in 2025 (Getty Images)

The European Capital of Culture scheme began in 1985 as ‘European City of Culture’ and it has grown arms and legs over the years. More recently, it has become common to have more than one city each year. The naming of co-joined partner cities like this is deliciously different though. Real investment – financial, intellectual and cultural – has gone into revamping urban spaces and conjuring up the year of festivities and events. The aim is grow both communities culturally and economically, and also to draw in tourism, which is where you come in.

Read more: The best places to visit in Slovenia, from Alpine peaks to historic towns

Nova Gorica and Gorizia share the commitment being the first ‘European Capital of Borderless Culture’. The “GO! BORDERLESS” slogan demonstrates this sense of unity, which celebrates both the ties of the past, but also offers pathways towards a prosperous future working together.

The symbolic epicentre of the year is Trg Evrope, or ‘Europe Square’, a plaza uniquely shared by both countries that was already a symbolic meeting place. The centrepoint of the square is the Mosaic of the New Europe, crafted from the old boundary stone that divided the communities for decades for years. Overlooking it is the remarkable Secessionist-style building that once housed Gorizia’s Northern railway station, now the oldest building in Nova Gorica.

open image in gallery

The view Kostanjevica Monastery as seen from the Gorizia medieval castle on the other side of the border (Getty Images)

In 2004, when Slovenia joyously joined the EU, it was celebrated in the square and many of the year’s 600 cultural events and 60 plus pioneering projects planned their launches – or at least have some connection – on the square. The European City of Culture celebration sees everything from international art exhibitions and classical concerts, through to multimedia arts extravaganzas, energetic theatre performances and open air live music burst through Nova Gorica.

One of the GO! 2025 projects is ‘Shining Invisible City’ created by the Museum of Transitional Art. It explores what Nova Gorica could have looked like had celebrated Slovenian architect Ravnikar’s original plans blossomed to fruition. The idea of alternate futures and fateful choices courses through the veins of a city that knows all about life-altering division.

Read more: Why you should visit Slovenia’s five Unesco heritage sites in 2025

Until September 18, ‘Eta Sadar Breznik: Seize the Storm’ is a retrospective exhibition styled by curator Lovro Ivancic, who describes its focus and spirit: “Perhaps this retrospective exhibition is truly a love story – for oneself and others, for movement and exploration, for material and expression, and for nature.” Eta Sadar Breznik was a winner of the bronze prize at the Beauvais International Tapestry Festival and the Preseren Fund Award.

Then there is a ‘Collection of Graphics by Primorska Artists 1951–1989’. This ambitious exhibition showcases the works of 22 local Primorska talents and surges across the border to shed light on Italian colleagues. It runs on until the end of 2025. This unmissable experience is on offer at the Park Hotel, a meeting point for creatives this year, with a focus on the world of graphic art and how art knows no borders, nor historical constraints, and how it can play a role in uniting people and places.

Or how about the Music Room? Until the end of the year, the Soba Music exhibition graces the Xcenter in Nova Gorica. The theme here is a digital tribute to the much celebrated Slovenian painter, graphic artist, and illustrator Zoran Music. His fame has made it beyond Slovenia, celebrated in artistic circles in Italy and France. This extravaganza immerses you in the artistic world of Zoran Music, whose works also star at Dobrovo Castle and Stanjel Castle this year, too.

open image in gallery

Multicoloured tower blocks and terracotta-roofed buildings form much of Nova Gorica surrounded by lush greenery (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The GO! 2025 projects are seriously eclectic. Also in the mix is a look at US legend Andy Warhol and his own relationship with borders, then another exhibition that delves into the murky world of cross border smuggling. There are global photography exhibitions too and those with a more concentrated focus like a lecture by writer Miljenko Jergovic. Yet another exhibition takes its own deep dive into the waters of the famous local river, the Soca.

Read more: These are the best towns and cities to visit in Slovenia

Of course, Nova Gorica is not just about the European Capital of Culture celebration. You get two cities for the price of one after all, a unique cross border opportunity. Nova Gorica is also renowned within Slovenia for its rich cultural scene even beyond this year, it offers theatres, museums and galleries. And the students of the highly rated University of Nova Gorica help give the city’s culture and nightlife a real energy.

Nova Gorica also sits in a enviable location, an ideal base for exploring the epic natural beauty that Slovenia boasts in such abundance. It offers easy access into the Vipava Valley with its lushness and vineyards. Hilly Goriska Brda has wines too and there is the wildly beautiful Soca Valley, with its emerald eponymous river world-famous for its whitewater rafting thrills. Those hinterland wineries are the perfect place to raise a glass of local wine in toast to Nova Gorica’s uniquely special year.

Getting there

EasyJet flies to Ljubljana from the UK. Flight time is around four hours.

More information

To learn more about the European City of Culture, visit go2025.eu.

Read more: The best European river cruises, from the enchanting Rhine to the magical Danube

_{Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.}