Gorizia is a town and comune in northeastern italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, and it is a local center of tourism, industry, and commerce. Since 1947, a twin town of Nova Gorica has developed on the other side of the Italian-Slovenian border. Both towns constitute a conurbation, which also includes the Slovenian municipality of Šempeter-Vrtojba. Since May 2011, these three towns are joined in a common trans-border metropolitan zone, administered by a joint administration board.
Gorizia is located at the confluence of the Isonzo and Vipava Valleys. It lies in a plain overlooked by the Collio hills, which are renowned for the production of outstanding wines. Sheltered from the north by a mountain ridge, Gorizia is protected from the cold Bora wind that affects most of the neighbouring areas. The town thus retains a mild Mediterranean climate throughout the year, making it a popular resort. The name of the town probably comes from the Slovene word gorica meaning "little hill", which is a very common toponym in the Slovene-inhabited areas.

Main sights

• The Castle, built within the Middle Ages walls, was once the seat of the administrative and judiciary power of the county. It is divided into the Corte dei Lanzi (with foundings of a high tower demolished in the 16th century), the Palazzetto dei Conti (13th century) and the Palazzetto Veneto. The Lanzi were the armed guards, the term being an Italian form of Landsknecht. The palatine chapel, entitled to Saint Bartholomew houses canvases of the Venetian school of painting and traces of Renaissance frescoes. There is also a Museum of the Goritian Middle Ages.
• The Cathedral (originally erected in the 14th century), like many of the city's buildings, was almost entirely destroyed during World War I. It has been rebuilt following the forms of the 1682 edifice, a Baroque church with splendid stucco decoration. A Gothic chapel of San Acatius is annexed to the nave.
• The most important church of Gorizia is that of St. Ignatius of Loyola, built by the Jesuits in 1680–1725. It has a single nave with precious sculptures at the altars of the side chapels. In the presbytery Christoph Tausch painted a Glory of St. Ignatius in 1721.
• The Palazzo Attems Petzenstein (19th century), designed by Nicolò Pacassi.
• The church of San Rocco. Palazzo Cobenzl, today seat of the archbishops.
• The Earls of Lantieri's house, which housed emperors and popes in his history.
• The Palazzo Coronini Cronberg, including an art gallery.
• The Transalpina railway square, divided by an international border.
• The Department of International and Diplomatic Sciences of the University of Trieste, hosted in the beautiful "Seminario Minore", is the most prestigious academic course in Foreign Affairs in italy.