📌 You are invited to embark on a journey through the stories and spaces of this unique twin town standing at the crossroads of worlds.

Nova Gorica is a young town with a short yet remarkable history.

It started to emerge in 1947 as a response to the post-war division of the Gorizia region. While most of the territory was awarded to Yugoslavia, its historic capital, Gorizia, remained in Italy. Nova Gorica became the first newly planned city in the new socialist state, envisioned as a socialist showcase facing the West.

The guidebook offers insight into the often overlooked or misunderstood stories and features of this borderland. The central part takes you on a path through the history, urbanism, and culture of Nova Gorica, followed by a walk through Gorizia and a brief overview of the surrounding towns and landscapes. The journey through time is enriched by selected archival photographs and suggested stops along the way.

In 2025, Nova Gorica, in partnership with Gorizia, became the first cross-border European Capital of Culture. It is also the first newly planned city ever to receive this prestigious title.

About the author:

Blaž Kosovel (1981) is a researcher, editor of the magazine Razpotja, freelance cultural worker, and licensed tour guide.

His research focuses on social history as well as on cultural and urban geography. His doctoral dissertation was later expanded into a scholarly monograph titled Why the U.S. Doesn’t Have a Ministry of Culture – From Agriculture to the Culture Industry, from the City of Rome to American Civilization (ZRC SAZU Press, 2022). He also contributed a foreword to the Slovenian edition of David Graeber’s Bullshit Jobs (cf. Publishing, 2024). As a Fulbright Fellow, he conducted research at the City University of New York in 2013.

Kosovel is a founding member of the Goriška Humanist Association and the Mesto knjige (City of Books) literary festival. He is the author of the documentary series Goriški sprehodi (Goriška Walks) and creator of historical and urban walking tours in Nova Gorica and Ljubljana. The guidebook you are holding is his contribution to shaping the story and history of Nova Gorica — the city where he grew up.
Nova Gorica – A New Town on the Border is part of the project Ab Initio – Urban Utopia, which is included in the official programme of Nova Gorica 2025, European Capital of Culture.

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