Trip to Italy (Gorizia, Trieste, Aquileia )

28-29 December 2007. This weekend we went to Italy for 2 days. First we went Gorizia (Slovenia : Gorica), a small town at the foot of the Alps, in northeastern Italy, on the border with Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, and is a local center of tourism, industry, and commerce.
In Slovenian, Gorica means "little hill." The city is located at the confluence of the valleys of Isonzo and Vipacco rivers. It lies in a plain overlooked by the Collio hills, which are renowned for the production of outstanding wines. Being sheltered from the north by a mountain ridge, Gorizia is not touched by the cold winds coming from there. And although the Bora can blow from the east, the city still retains a mild climate.
Originally a watchtower or a prehistoric castle, Gorizia soon became a little village near the fords of the river Isonzo. It was not far from one of the most important Roman travelways linking Aquileia and Emona (Ljubljana). The name of Gorizia was for the first time recorded in a document dated AD April 28, 1001: "Villa quae Sclavorum lingua vocatur Goriza " ("The village, known in the language of the Slavs as Goriza"). This stated the donation of the castle and village of Gorizia made by Emperor Otto III to Patriarch Giovanni II and to Count Verihen Eppenstein of Friuli. The Eppensteins were succedeed by the Palatine counts of Bavaria.
One of the main attraction in this town its old 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.
In this town, you can also find some shops. Grega said it used to be more shops back then and they used to shop here cause his grandmother lives in Nova Gorica (Slo), the town next to Gorizia. But now most of shops are closed. I actually plan to get some shoes here since i cant find a pump with smallest number for my small feet in Slovenia. But we didnt find anything.

Second day, we went to Trieste. The main attraction in this town is The two castles. The older castle, dating back to the eleventh century, is in ruins, while the newer castle is inhabited to this day and can be visited by tourists, it is known as Castello di Duinno.
The new castle of Duino is approximately dated to about the year 1400, when the family Wallsee commanded the construction of a strong fortress. Over time, the Wallsee family disappeared and the castle, after having been used as a prison, became the residence of the Luogar and Hofer. At the end of the 19th century it became the property of the Prince Alexander of Thurn and Taxis. It remains with the family to this day with his grandson Prince Carlo Alessandro della Torre e Tasso, Duke of Castel Duino the current owner. The castle has been opened to the public as a museum and park.
This place is very popular among famous people. They spent some time to stay here. Numerous the renowned guest : Elizabent of Austria (Sisi), The Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, Johann Strauss, and most important of all, the hermetic poet Reiner Maria Rilke who composed the first two of the famous Duino Elegies while staying at the castle.
This castle also has a bunker which was constructed in 1943 by the Organization TODT for the German Navy to defend the naval base of Sistiana againts a pissible allied attack.Used as air-raid shelter before it was armoured with a cannon by the Germans, it was transformed after the war (1945 - 1954 ) by the British into a fuel store. The bunker was opened to the public by the Princess Della Torre e Tasso in March 2006 to witness these years.
This castle is really different than other castles i've been visited. It's interesting to me since it has sea as the view, plus the weather is quite warm during the winter time. The owner offcourse has their own beach. Must be comfortable to live here, especially during summer :-) No wonder many famous people like to spend some time here for relax or to get inspiration for their work.

After visited Duino castle, we went to Miramare Castle, its a 19th century castle, built for Austrian Archduke Maximilian and his wife, Charlotte of Belgium, later Emperor Maximilian I and Empress Charlotte of Mexico. The castle is situated on the Gulf of Trieste near Trieste, northeastern Italy. Construction took place from 1856 to 1860 to a design by Carl Junker on the orders of Archduke Maximilian. The castle's grounds include an extensive (22 hectares) cliff and seashore park designed by the Archduke. The grounds were completely re-landscaped to feature numerous tropical species of trees and plants. Its very beautiful castle with sea as the view. Unfortunately we didnt check what they have inside since we run out of time because we still need to go to see some other place.

As our last destination before heading back home is Aquileia, its an ancient Roman city in what is now Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about 10 km from the sea, on the river Natiso (modern Natisone), the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times.
Aquileia was founded as a colony by the Romans in 180/181 BC along the Natissa River, on land south of the Julian Alps but about 8 miles north of the lagoons. Apparently named from a indigenous world Akylis, the colony served as a frontier fortress at the north-east corner of transpadane Italy and was intended to protect the Veneti, faithful Roman allies, during the Illyrian Wars and act as a butress to check the advance of other warlike people, such as the hostile tribes of Carni and Istri. In fact, Aquileia was founded on a site not far from where Gaulish invaders had attempted to settle in 183 BC.
Aquileia was connected by road with Bononia (Bologna) probably in 173 BC; and subsequently with Genua (Genova) in 148 BC by the Via Postumia, which ran through Cremona, Bedriacum and Altinum, joining the first-mentioned road at Concordia, while the construction of the Via Popilia from Rimini to Ad Portum near Altinum in 132 BC improved the communications still further.
Here you will find some archeology work where they are digging some sites to find more ruins. There are a port (used to be the major port), roman's houses, roman's forum, archelogical roads. Very interesting sites!!
Other main sight besides the ruin is the Cathedral, Basilica of Aquileia. Its one of the most important edifices of Christianity. It is a flat-roofed basilica erected by Patriarch Poppo in 1031 on the site of an earlier church, and rebuilt about 1379 in the Gothic style by Patriarch Marquad.
The façade, in Romanesque-Gothic style, is connected by a portico to the Church of the Pagans, and the remains of the 5th century Baptistry. The interior has a nave and two aisles, with a noteworthy mosaic pavement from the 4th century. The wooden ceiling is from 1526, while the fresco decoration belongs to various ages: from the 4th century in the St. Peter's chapel of the apse area; from the 11th century in the apse itself; from the 12th century in the so-called "Crypt of the Frescoes", under the presbytery, with a cycle depicting the origins of Christianity in Aquileia and the history of St. Hermagoras, first bishop of the city.