"Piazza Transalpina" Top 5 Page for this destination Gorizia Things to Do Tip by Mikebond

This tip deals with the most touching moments of my visit to Gorizia, because "I am Europa" and the Piazza Transalpina ("Transalpine square") has become the symbol of the European reunification started on 1st May 2004, when eight Central and Eastern European countries, including Slovenija, joined the European Union.
The square lies where the Iron Curtain had been erected, splitting the town of Gorizia in two sides (afterwards the Yougoslavian government built Nova Gorica, "New Gorizia") and dividing many families. The works to demolish the curtain started in 2003 and ended up on 30th April 2004, when the new square was revealed to the public during a ceremony for Slovenija's joining the EU, when fireworks and the Hymn to Joy were played. I wanted to go there, but I didn't because I wouldn't have had any train to go back to Trieste. So, I stayed at home in Rovigo and watched the show "Welcome in Europe" from Berlin and Warszawa, with artists and politicians from the ten new EU-members.
So, back to the square... The building you see is the former Stazione Transalpina ("Transalpine railway station"), now the Nova Gorica railway station. The mosaic was designed by Franco Vecchiet. The plate in the middle of it replaces the boundary stone.
If much refers to a future of peace for the two peoples, four big panels reminded you that you were standing at the State border between the two countries that was forbidden to cross. You were allowed to move freely only in the square.
However, this last border between the two "sisters" definitely fell on 21st December 2007, when Slovenija joined the Schengen area granting free movement to European citizens all over the EU.
I will put the photos of the Slovenian side of the square in my Nova Gorica page and, maybe, all the pics of the Piazza Transalpina in my Europe page.
If you go to Gorizia, you really must go to the Piazza Transalpina, otherwise your journey will not be complete.