The format of the èStoriaBus, the targeted visits to the places of history conducted and illustrated by historians on board of coaches, already successfully used since the first editions of èStoria - International History Festival, is developed and extended thanks to the project ‘Beyond Walk of Peace: from Crossborder Historical Research and Cultural Heritage to European Trail and Stories’, financed by the European Regional Development Fund within the framework of the Interreg VI-A ITA-SLO 2021-2027 Programme. Project partners include the lead partner Fundacija Poti miru v Posočju, EGTC GO, ZRC SAZU, PromoTurismoFVG, the Municipality of Miren Kostanjevica and the Cultural Association èStoria.

The èStoriaBus BeWoP project is inaugurated with an itinerary that is the first of four opportunities to get to know the Soča/Isonzo river in the most in-depth way, from its source to its mouth. Known as one of the most interesting waterways in Europe, for its extraordinary colours and the wealth of historical events that have occurred on its banks, it can be defined as a ‘border’ not because it marks a border line, but because it crosses very different realities, bringing together people with different languages, cultures, histories and conceptions of life. It has witnessed dramatic moments, particularly in the 20th century due to the two world wars that saw it blameless. Today, it is one of the main attractions of Nova Gorica and Gorizia, European Capital of Culture 2025, and the Walk of Peace from the Alps to the Adriatic.

The first appointment is for Sunday, 13 October 2024. In one busy day, it will be possible to visit Kobarid, in Italian the famous Caporetto, and Tolmin. The residential areas that stand on these two centres host museums, agricultural and production activities (e.g. dairy farming), archaeological excavations and sporting venues linked to the course of the river, providing a first-hand insight into the history, material life and, above all, the beauty of a peculiar territory.

Further outings to discover the Soča/Soča are planned for the spring period, from the spring in the Trenta valley to Caporetto, for the following autumn, to Most na Soči (Santa Lucia d'Isonzo) to Kanal (Canale d'Isonzo) and Solkan (Salcano), and for spring 2026, to Gradisca, San Canzian d'Isonzo and Isola della Cona. The information content will be proposed by writer and journalist Andrea Bellavite, author, with photographer Massimo Crivellari, of the text ‘L'Isonzo’ published by LEG in 2014.

The second èStoriaBus, scheduled for Saturday 16 November and realised in collaboration with the Fondazione Palazzo Coronini Cronberg, will instead be dedicated to the exile of the Bourbons: memories will be revived of the lives of some members of the French royal family, who fled their homeland in the revolution to find refuge in nineteenth-century Habsburg Gorizia. The itinerary will also be an opportunity to discover Gorizia's sumptuous aristocratic residences (Villa Coronini, Palazzo Strassoldo), lush gardens and places of prayer (such as the convent of Kostanjevica), which still today house the remains of Charles X, Henry V and other family members.

The voice of memory in this itinerary will be Jean-Paul Bled, French historian and professor emeritus at the University of Paris-Sorbonne, Renato Podbersič, author and researcher at the Study Centre for National Reconciliation, and Cristina Bragaglia, creator and curator of the exhibition reviews and cultural initiatives of the Palazzo Coronini Cronberg Foundation.

The èStoriaBus is aimed at an Italian, Slovenian and international audience, thanks to the simultaneous translation of the speakers' speeches and the production of audio guides, available in several languages.

More information on the days' programmes can be found on the èStoria website.

Contacts:

segreteria@estoria.it

+39 3311682969

www.estoria.it