Gorizia Castle is an Italian

fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

dating to the 11th century on the

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct Summit (topography), summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally con ...

which dominates the city of

Gorizia Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label= Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Gorit ...

, Italy, from which it takes its name. The medieval

House of Gorizia The Counts of Gorizia (german: Grafen von Görz; it, Conti di Gorizia; sl, Goriški grofje), also known as the Meinhardiner, were a comital, princely and ducal dynasty in the Holy Roman Empire. Named after Gorizia Castle in Gorizia (now in Ital ...

was named after the castle.

History

The construction of Gorizia Castle can be dated to around 1146, where, for the first time, the title of Count of Gorizia appears, given to Henry IV of

Spanheim The House of Sponheim or Spanheim was a medieval German noble family, which originated in Rhenish Franconia. They were immediate Counts of Sponheim until 1437 and Dukes of Carinthia from 1122 until 1269. Its cadet branches ruled in the Imperi ...

, which presumes the presence of a fortification at the site. Already in the next generation, it passed to the counts in the

Puster Valley The Puster Valley ( it, Val Pusteria ; german: Pustertal, ) is one of the largest longitudinal valleys in the Alps that runs in an east-west direction between Lienz in East Tyrol, Austria, and Mühlbach near Brixen in South Tyrol, Italy. The Sou ...

, related to the Spanheims, who thereafter took the title of Counts of Gorizia, testifying to the importance of the castle at the time. It is likely that an initial series of defensive structures such as a small motte-and-bailey fort with a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

and a

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymology ''Palisade' ...

which had preceded the construction of a stone

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

, which was further expanded during the 13th century, with the addition of a mansion and a two-storey building. During the same period there was certainly a hamlet outside of the palisade, also outfitted with a defensive barrier and composed of houses mandatorily built in masonry, an enforcement given to the residents together with the duty of defending the castle in case of attack. Ingresso del castello di Gorizia

The first representation of the castle dates back to 1307, imprinted on the

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

allowed to the city by Albert II. Although the figure is very stylized, the keep can be clearly seen. It is likely that around 1350, the castle had similar appearance to that of Bruck in

Lienz Lienz (; Southern Bavarian: ''Lianz'') is a Town privileges, medieval town in the Austrian state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol. It is the administrative centre of the Lienz (district), Lienz district, which covers all of East Tyrol. The municipality a ...

. At

Leonhard Leonhard may refer to: *Leonhard Euler (1707–1783), Swiss mathematician and physicist *Leonhard Hutter (1563–1616), German theologian *Karl Leonhard Karl Leonhard (21 March 1904 – 23 April 1988) was a German psychiatrist who was a student a ...

's death, the last count of Gorizia, in the spring of 1500, the County with Gorizia Castle became properties of

Maximilian I of Habsburg Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death. He was never crowned by the pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed himself Ele ...

, emperor of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. Although having reinforced its defences, the castle and the region was lost in 1508, when it was seized by the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

after Maximilian's unsuccessful attack on the Republic of Venice in the

Battle of Cadore The battle of Cadore, also known as the battle of Rio Secco or Rusecco, was a battle that took place near Pieve di Cadore during the opening phase of the War of the League of Cambrai, part of the Italian Wars, on 2 March 1508, opposing the Venet ...

. The Republic claimed the County of Gorizia as an alleged

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

of the

Patriarchate of Aquileia The Patriarchate of Aquileia was an episcopal see in northeastern Italy, centred on the ancient city of Aquileia situated at the head of the Adriatic, on what is now the Italian seacoast. For many centuries it played an important part in histor ...

. Under the Republic of Venice, the castle had further fortification works to make it more appropriate to the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

warfare, which incorporated the use of firearms. Among the various changes made, the 11th-century keep was demolished. However, Venice only managed to occupy the territory for thirteen months, until June 1509. In the following century, the castle was used as a

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

and as a

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

, and lost its

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

appearance. In the 13th century it was further expanded with

bastions A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

powder keg A powder keg is a barrel of gunpowder. The powder keg was the primary method for storing and transporting large quantities of black powder until the 1870s and the adoption of the modern cased cartridge. The barrels had to be handled with care, si ...

s and

walls Walls may refer to: *The plural of wall, a structure * Walls (surname), a list of notable people with the surname Places * Walls, Louisiana, United States *Walls, Mississippi, United States * Walls, Ontario, neighborhood in Perry, Ontario, C ...

. The construction of some of these works was supervised by

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

and

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

Edmond Halley Edmond (or Edmund) Halley (; – ) was an English astronomer, mathematician and physicist. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, succeeding John Flamsteed in 1720. From an observatory he constructed on Saint Helena in 1676–77, H ...

. The castle was damaged during the bombings in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and underwent a

philological Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as the ...

restoration between 1934 and 1937 by the architect Ferdinando Forlati, with the help of military engineers and the supervision of the Belle Arti of

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

. It was decided to return to a medieval look of the castle and discard the white plastering that the building had acquired during the

Today

The castle now houses the Museum of the Middle Ages of Gorizia. The interiors are decorated with original furniture and furnishings, and reproductions of weapons and siege engines are shown. In the central courtyard it is still possible to see the remains of the old 11th-century tower. Above the entrance there is a statue of the

Lion of Saint Mark The Lion of Saint Mark, representing Mark the Evangelist, pictured in the form of a winged lion, is an aspect of the Tetramorph. On the pinnacle of St Mark's Cathedral he is depicted as holding a Bible, and surmounting a golden lion which is t ...

, symbol of the

. Although dating back to the 16th century, it was never used because of the brief Venetian domination, until 1919, when it was placed in its current location. On the hill around the castle there is a public park.

Bibliography

* Lucia Pillon, Robero Kusterle, ''Gorizia Millenaria'', Libreria Editrice Goriziana, 2005, * Maria Rosaria De Vitis Piemonti, Luciano Spangher, ''Conosciamo Gorizia'', Pro Loco di Gorizia, 1987 * Livio Tomasi, ''La selezione dei beni culturali: il restauro del Castello di Gorizia'', Cassa di Risparmio di Gorizia, 1985 * Maddalena Malni Pascoletti, ''La cittadella fortificata di Gorizia e la Porta Leopoldina tra guerra e arte'', Italia Nostra - Sezione di Gorizia, 2008

External links

La storia del castelloIl castello sul sito del comune
{{Authority control Castles in Friuli-Venezia Giulia Buildings and structures in Gorizia