Nova Gorica, a town in wester Slovenia crossed by the Isonzo River, on the border with Italy, a unique blend of Slovenian and Italian cultures, modern architecture, rich history, and stunning nature, serving as a gateway to the Soča Valley and Vipava wine region, with vibrant as the 2025 European Capital of Culture focusing on art, tech, and borderless unity, has a new cultural venue dedicated to life.
The EPIC Centre (European Platform for Interpretation of the 20th Century) located near Europe Square, is a key project for the European Capital of Culture 2025, which opened with the permanent exhibition “City on the Border: Goriška in the 20th Century” focusing on personal stories and the shared history of the Slovenian - Italian border region.
For the opening of the venue the €6.38 million was financed by the municipality o Nova Gorica, the Slovenian government and the European Regional Development Fund.
The site is the result of the transformation of a former railway depot on the Slovenian side of the border between Nova Gorica and Italy’s Gorizia, a town and municipality in the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia located at the foot of the Julian Alps in northeast Italy has been turned into a new cultural venue, a vibrant hub for events, education, and reflection on cross – border identity.
The curator of the exhibition, historian Kaja Širok said at the 26th November launch that “City on the Border”,offers visitors a look into the future through the understanding of a shared past.
The historian added that “City on the Border” is dedicated to individual and collective stories of people on both sides of the border, told through Slovenian, Italian, as well Friulian and German experiences to enrich the understanding of the area’s history through different viewpoints.
EPIC Centre aims to go beyond national narratives, creating a shared space for reflection, cultural exchange, and understanding the complex history that shaped this unique borderland, inviting visitors to contribute their own memories.
The exhibition aims to highlight the region’s multiculturalism and show how important multicultural hubs started disappearing after the world wars and made way for nation focused storytelling.
The exhibition is structured chronologically, featuring personal stories, objects, and videos testimonies as part of the narrative, offering an intimate look at life, before, during, and after the World Wars and it shows how the same events were interpreted in different ways, including by how they were termed such as the occupation or liberation of Gorizia.
As visitors walk through the rooms the interiors change to show how styles, design and architecture changed. One ois for example in the Biedermeier style, an early 19th century. a Central European design style that emerged from a reaction to the opulence of earlier styles, prioritizing simplicity, functionality, and domestic comfort for the rising middle class, and characterized on clean lines, geometric shapes, restrained elegance, and the use of lighter, local wooids like cherry and maple that highlight the natural grain.
A separate display curated by journalist Ali Žerdin features front pages of newspapers to show how the same events were reported in Italy, Slovenia and other countries.
This way, the exhibition portrays the complexity of history and relationships in the 20th century, not only in the region but throughout Europe.
Guided tours are available in Slovenian, Italian and English and an accompany catalogue will be published next year featuring reflections by authors from both countries and how they experience and understand the border and the border region.
EPIC Centre located just a stone’s throw away from Europe Square straddling the border, also includes a multifunctional conference hall, a gallery, a café and is designed as a new urban meeting point and creative venue.
Link
https://sloveniatimes.com/45803/new-cultural-venue-in-nova-gorica-dedicated-to-life-on-the-border
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