Conurbations 

• Gorizia municipality

• Nova Gorica municipality

Number of inhabitants:

Approximately 73,000 inhabitants, 37,000 of whom on the Italian side. 

Historical and geographical background 

The Gorizia/Nova Gorica conurbation is situated at the crossroads of several linguistic and cultural influences: Germanic, Slav and Italian. The town of Gorizia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until 1918. After the First World War, the town became Italian and was called Gorizia. After 1945, Gorizia was claimed by Yugoslavia which obtained the relatively small Eastern part, where the train station was located. This neighbourhood was called Nova Gorica.

After the collapse of Yugoslavia and the proclamation of independence by Slovenia in 1991, cross-border flows were inverted: numerous Italians travelled to Slovenia for the cheap shopping. Nova Gorica became a spot for casinos and gambling, the presence of which is very limited in Italy.

Slovenia's accession to the European Union in 2004, then its entry into the Schengen area in 2007, resulted in Gorizia/Nova Gorica ceasing to be a border town.

 Background to the move to cross-border cooperation

Since the 1960's, Gorizia and Nova Gorica have drawn up important cultural projects together, thus becoming a think tank in terms of how to overcome “the  split with Europe”. Paradoxically, the end of communism also marked the drop in intensity of cross-border cooperation between the two towns. Today, while the municipalities have undertaken cooperation actions in different areas (tourism, environment, infrastructures), very few of them have been characterised by concrete results. Cross-border cooperation, however, is still very much present in the speeches delivered by the Italian and Slovene authorities and has extended to the neighbouring towns, in particular Sempeter-Vrtojba. 

Functioning of cross-border administration

Cross-border cooperation at local level: The Italian municipality of Gorizia and the Slovene municipalities of Nova Gorica and Sempeter Vrtojba meet on a regular basis to draw up projects and to discuss their respective activities.
Difficulties in certain sectors: In terms of health, Gorizia hospitals on the Italian side and Sempeter Vrtojba on the Slovene side have never managed to establish a long-lasting relationship, even though they are less than 300 metres away from each other. In terms of tourism, both towns compete more than they cooperate.

Symbolic projects 

Development of Transalpina square: This square, located in front of the Nova Gorica train station, symbolises the reunification of the two towns.

Isonzo basin management: A joint management project of the cross-border basin of the river Isonzo is underway.

University cooperation: The municipalities of Gorizia and Nova Gorica are intending to form a large, joint university pole.