In the heart of the Province of Gorizia, not far from the Memorial of Redipuglia and the open-air museums of Mt. Sei Busi and Mt. San Michele, you can visit the town of Gradisca d'Isonzo. Included in the Patriarchate of Aquileia in the Middle Age, it was annexed to the Republic of Venice in 1479, which transformed it into a defensive fort town against the Turks. A few years later, in 1511, it became part of the Habsburg Empire and its importance grew so that it became the capital of the County bearing the same name.
During the nineteenth century, once the peril of invasion was over, the defensive walls and bastions were dismantled and Gradisca became a pleasant resort town, lined with cafes and restaurants. It was a classic Belle epoque period, between the late 800's and the Great War. Like all other towns under Austria-Hungary, Gradisca too was affected by the war as early as the summer of 1914. First taken over by the Italian army, it was set on fire and almost totally destroyed following the defeat of Caporetto.
Its half-millennium history can be read on the Redemption Column, a monument by sculptor Battista Novelli inaugurated in 1924 and located in Unification Square, opposite the theatre. It is a symbolic monument featuring a cubic base, whose sides bear four bas-reliefs, while on the top of the 10m high column, you can see the Venetian Lion of St. Mark, with the open book.
The four bas-reliefs on the base are all dated and show Gradisca's four most significant periods. The period 1470-1499 with the menace of the Turkish invasion, year 1479 with the construction of the defensive fort, the period 1511-1915 dedicated to the Habsburg rule and, finally, the Great War, accompanied by a Winged Victory and the date 04th November 1918.
INFORMATION
Via Piazzale Unità d'Italia (opposite the municipal theatre)
I-34072 Gradisca d'Isonzo (GO)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
I.A.T. Gradisca d'Isonzo
via Ciotti, 49
34072 Gradisca d'Isonzo GO
Tel +39 0481 960624
Fax +39 0481 960624 prolocogradisca@virgilio.it
