GORICI OF THE FUTURE BETWEEN DREAMS AND REALITY

by ANDREA BELLAVITE

Nova Gorica in the autumn and Gorizia in the spring will face the appointment of the administrative elections. After the conclusion of the intense period of the European Capital of Culture, can we hope for a shared analysis of the problems and presentation of the perspectives?

A common discourse would be more necessary than ever and political programs could be imagined aimed – as it has never been so far – both at the oldest and the “new” part of the city. It is time to sit around a table and to propose together, right together, a new vision of being a city. An idea could also be that of the same party or civic symbol, to be presented both in the area in Italy and in Slovenia.

Speaking of the management of the resources of a municipality, it is always necessary to keep in mind two aspects: the ideal vision, i.e. the broad horizon in which to move and the prospects open towards a more or less distant future, and the ability to make operational choices, to be achieved through the finding of funding, the relationship of excellent collaboration with the technicians of the offices, the accompaniment of actions with constant attention, the ability to relate with other local authorities and with regional and national governments.

In terms of vision, Gorizia and Nova Gorica are called to be a beacon of reference for peace in the world. This has already been experienced in some moments of the capital of culture, when one really felt an integral part of a social whole. It is due to history, which has accompanied the twentieth century from world wars and totalitarianism to friendly coexistence and now to the full sharing of intentions. In this context, it is evident that Culture must be the true foundation of any common action, be it social, economic, urban or environmental. How do we imagine this extraordinary place in 2050, in which languages, cultures, philosophical and religious visions of the world are increasingly mixed harmoniously?

And how can this intent be achieved? How can we concretely build a future in which the law of coexistence is that of unity in the enhancement of diversity?

There are several themes – in my book Senza confini, Gorizia e Nova Gorica dalla A alla Ž – I have indicated about thirty of them, with the initials of the letters of the alphabet. They range from hospitality to libraries, from the economy to rivers, from young people to languages, from mountains to peace, from military servitude to toponymy, from welfare to roads.

There would be a lot to say about each of these topics. In this context, I would point out three urgencies.

Nova Gorica with Gorizia can become a great laboratory for the construction of justice and peace on the entire planet. Thanks to the contribution of university institutes and research institutions, a school for the training of the European Civil Peace Corps could be created, grafted onto an international academy, capable of attracting people, especially young people, from Europe and the world, eager to offer their contribution to the pacification of ongoing conflicts. We could also think about the reuse and arrangement of many disused barracks, which could become centers of coexistence and friendship for students from the five continents. And the particular configuration of the territory could make it possible to create a center of meeting, dialogue and negotiation for delegations of peoples at war with each other. It has already happened in the past, it could return to being a present perspective.

A second area is that of reception. Every person should be “at home”, whether they come to the Gorizia area for tourism reasons or for work or other needs. The system of reception of those fleeing hunger, war and persecution could be built together, at the apex point of the Balkan route. The presence of so many empty physical structures could allow particularly exciting housing experiments, including the creation of new ways of interrelating between natives and newcomers, in a sharing of intentions favored by adherence to particular forms of support that have already given excellent proof, such as the SPRAR (now SAI) in Italy.

Of course, the ability to receive people is also a source of substantial funding. The Gorizia area must be aware of its extraordinary potential. It allows a historical meditation that accompanies the visitor from the time of the Neanderthals to the Roman conquest, from the foundation of Aquileia to the Great Patriarchate, from medieval suggestions to the First World War, not to mention the absolute uniqueness of its complex twentieth century. The rivers and mountains that overlook the territory bring a beauty that must be enhanced, especially by those who love slow tourism, with the unforgettable paths that develop in the Soča and Vipava valleys and with the cycle paths that allow you to pedal refreshed by the mists that rise from the multicolored course of the Soča. The gastronomic proposals and the opportunity to taste some of the most remarkable European wines add further reasons for attraction in a land inhabited by nice, sweet people who are open to smiling and sharing.

A third element is that of the welfare state. It is evident how much the territory is suffering. The chances of realizing themselves in work are few, many young people are forced to go and live elsewhere. The shops, one after the other, close and you can see everywhere the sad sign “for rent” or “for sale”. It is essential that the social assistance system is immediately shared in toto, the problems do not stop in front of the diversity of language and even less in front of the famous white line of the border. We need to think about the homeless, families in economic difficulty, a synergy with the institutions of Nova Gorica and Gorizia that deal with the problems of the poorest and weakest.

There are some mandatory premises for all this – and much, much more – to actually be achieved.

The first is that of language. Unfortunately, despite some commendable improvements due to the presence of excellent organized and spontaneous courses for adults, the knowledge of Slovenian is still very lacking in the Italian part, but even that of Italian is becoming less and less frequent. A lot of investment is needed, so that this real boundary can be overcome and the advocated passive multilingualism can be achieved, at least understanding the language of the other, if it is really not possible to speak it.

The second is very interesting and must be seized as an extraordinary opportunity. The housing crisis and the exponential increase in house prices in Slovenia – including in Nova Gorica – has generated a completely new situation of which we still have little awareness. Thousands of inhabitants of Nova Gorica have moved to Gorizia, bringing a breath of great novelty to the old city which, among other things, has made it possible to overcome the feeling of emptiness provided by too many apartments with shutters and locked portals. In this way, what some Italians feared, but most longed for, the idea of a single city where Slovenes and Italians actually mingle, beginning to think and create an adventurous and experimental common construction, is naturally realized.

A third premise is the deep desire for internationality. While new racist and exclusivist logics seem to prevail everywhere in the world, in Gorizia and Nova Gorica an innovative path can be started. It is certainly a matter of reconstructing a fabric that until the beginning of the twentieth century was evidently unitary, not for an anachronistic re-edition of the County of Gorizia, but for the start of a new system of international governance. The municipalities of the Soča, Idrijca and Vipava valleys (but, why not? also those of the Natisone valleys) could unite in a new EGTC/EZTS, forming an autonomous entity, on both sides of the old border, capable of attracting attention and funding not only from their respective national governments, but also directly from the European Union. It is the construction of a new idea of homeland, without borders and without preclusions, generated by coexistence and not by opposition.

Dreams? Let’s get together, present and future administrator candidates of Gorizia and Nova Gorica! If we believe in it and if we build together, brick by brick, in ideality and concreteness, this new vision of the world, we can certainly do it. And utopia, as the great Franco Basaglia said, can finally become reality.