From a historical and artistic perspective, Palazzo Werdenberg ranks among the monumental buildings. Its history is linked to that of the Jesuits, whose presence in Gorizia had been requested, as in many centers of the Habsburg Empire (Graz, Ljubljana), in the spirit and according to the rules and directives of the Council of Trent, mainly to take care of the education of youth, following the severe religious and spiritual crisis that involved the clergy and local population at the time, who were not indifferent to the Lutheranism spreading throughout Europe.
Their settlement in Gorizia in 1615, after being expelled from the territories of the Republic of San Marco, was made possible thanks to the donation by Baron Vito Dornberg of the Church of San Giovanni, with an attached house, on the homonymous street.
Initially, the residence was also used as a seminary for a few students, as the Jesuits were also engaged in the education and formation of the clergy.
Given the precariousness of the situation, Baron Verda von Werdenberg intervened in 1629, allocating 22,000 florins for the perpetual maintenance of 24 poor seminarians and one of his buildings on Via San Giovanni for adaptation into a Seminary. However, since the house was too far from the college and not comfortable enough, in 1634, always thanks to the generous funding of Baron Werdenberg, a larger and closer house was bought from the noble Ambrogio Sembler.
The entire structure was almost entirely rebuilt, expanded by adding adjacent buildings and decorated, reaching completion in 1649. It presents a compact facade, pierced by tight sequences of windows on Via delle Scuole (today Via Mameli), while the side facing the current Corso Verdi is lightened by harmonious porticos with three orders of loggias overlooking the large inner courtyard.
Simple and sober, the palace achieves perfect harmony in its architectural lines and fully expresses the purpose for which it was built, granting the Baroque fashion only the beautiful stuccoes placed at the top of the staircase, probably the work of Giovanni Pacassi, father of the architect Nicolò.
Other distinctive signs of its historical-artistic nobility are also the vaulted arches present in some rooms and cellars of the ground floor and the first floor, and the already mentioned loggias, capable of creating suggestive perspectives inside and outside the building, to which the two gardens add a charming setting, one of which recalls the ancient botanical garden of the Imperial Royal Austrian Gymnasium.
In March 1995, the massive cycle of construction and plant engineering interventions started at the end of 1988 was completed, which renovated Palazzo Werdenberg, giving it solidity and elegance and adapting it to the functions of a modern Library by increasing spaces and opening new services.
Information about the Isontina State Library of Gorizia
Via G. Mameli, 12
34170 Gorizia (Gorizia)
0481580211
bs-ison@beniculturali.it
https://www.isontina.beniculturali.it/
Monday – Friday: 7:45 AM – 6:45 PM – Saturday: 7:45 AM – 1:30 PM
Free
Source: MIBACT
