On 26 May 2025, a press conference was held at Kavarna in Knjigarna Maks in Nova Gorica to present the cross-border events that the èStoria history festival will offer this year, marking its first expansion to the Slovenian side of the border – Nova Gorica. Dr. Petra Svoljšak (ZRC SAZU) and Tomaž Konrad (EZTS GO) spoke about the festival program, participating institutions, and its significance for the cross-border region and the European Capital of Culture GO! 2025, with Maša Klavora (Walk of Peace Foundation) serving as moderator.
The èStoria festival in Gorizia, the largest history festival in Italy and one of the major ones in Europe, will offer around 300 events from 29 May to 1 June 2025. For over two decades, the festival has brought top historians and historical stories from across Europe to Gorizia, and this year it will systematically include the Slovenian space for the first time. There will also be 18 cross-border events, available for the first time in Slovenian or with simultaneous interpretation, held at the EPIC Centre, Knjigarna and Kavarna Maks, and the Trgovski Dom in Gorizia.
The theme of the 21st edition of the festival is cities – their history, symbolic meaning, and role in broader social processes. Discussions will include Kobarid, Gorizia, Habsburg cities, and the cross-border twin towns of Gorizia and Nova Gorica.
The festival’s expansion to Slovenia was made possible primarily through the financial and organizational support of the Interreg project BeWoP – Beyond Walk of Peace, which together with the European Capital of Culture GO! 2025 significantly contributes to cross-border cultural cooperation and the opening of a shared cultural space. The festival is organized by the Cultural Association èStoria, which is also one of the partners of the BeWoP project.
Participating Slovenian institutions hope that the cross-border edition of the èStoria festival will become a regular feature in the years to come.
