ICM 55° Mitteleuropean Cultural Meeting

The Institute for Mitteleuropean Cultural Meetings of Gorizia (ICM), with the contribution of the Autonomous Region Friuli Venezia Giulia, the support of the Archdiocese of Gorizia, Cassa Rurale FVG Bank and the patronage of the Municipalities of Gorizia and Mossa, in collaboration with the State Archive of Gorizia, Isontina State Library, Palazzo Coronini Cronberg Foundation and “Thomas Schippers” Association is pleased to present the project “Gorizia at the heart of Europe: the Cobenzl family”.

The project, the first part of the 2020 edition of the Mitteleuropean Cultural Meetings - one of the longest and most prestigious cultural events of Friuli Venezia Giulia -, is intended to carry on a historical-scientific elaboration started since the Eighties with the conferences on “Maria Theresia e Joseph II: Gorizia, the Littoral, the Empire” (1981), on the first archbishop of Gorizia Carlo Michele d’Attems (1988-89) and on “The Eighteenth Century on horseback of the Alps” (1992). It aims at promoting the rich and unexplored heritage linked to the Cobenzl family, making it finally accessible to the local and international public.

During three centuries the Cobenzls were protagonists in the history of Gorizia and the region between Friuli, the Alps and Central Europe in the most diverse fields: the rise of the Habsburg monarchy, the arrival of the Jesuits, the development of arts, music, philosophy and literature with personalities including Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the painter Caucig, poet Da Ponte, and Mozart.

The history of the family is kept in the precious Coronini Cronberg Historical Archive, now preserved in the State Archive of Gorizia, whose inventory revealed the existence of a mass of data and facts of absolute importance and that deserve careful valorisation.

More, Gorizia and its surrounding territory preserve monumental examples of primary importance not only in the city, but also in villages such as Mossa, Štanjel, Postojna, Planina, and Ljubljana, in addition to Vienna: one of the main objectives of the project, indeed, is that of historical knowledge and its valorization in international tourism.

Thanks to a careful investigation of the Cobenzl family, in order to realize an event of considerable public impact, it will be possible to organize an International Conference, at least one concert, visits to sites linked to the family, and start a work of dissemination and awareness oriented to grow quality tourism in the Gorizia area between Italy and Slovenia.

The scientific project

The project is structured as follows:

1) September-November 2019: preparation and financing of the project;

2) December 2019-January 2020: selection and confirmation of the participation of interested scholars;

3) February-September 2020: field research (Gorizia, Vienna, Ljubljana and other places), study and elaboration of the contributions that will flow into the conference proceedings;

4) October-November 2020: editing of the proceedings and printing of the book;

5) 4-5 December 2020: International Conference (online streaming and on invitation). It will be inaugurated by a concert at Cobenzl Palace, now the Archbishopric of Gorizia, with music by Mozart, Kozeluch and Eberl dedicated to the Cobenzl family (TBC);

The research work is aimed at a more precise and in-depth knowledge of still unknown archive sources, answering to questions regarding the origins of the family, the public activities of its main exponents, art and political patronage, the effects of their activity on the territory, the socio-economic and political development of the region of Gorizia in relation to the Habsburg monarchy and to the neighboring Republic of Venice.

Collaborators/speakers are selected on the basis of the relevance of their studies and curricular publications related to project topics and are mostly working in universities, public archives, as well as renowned scholars. The conference proceedings will be subject to scientific parameters of originality, critical knowledge of the state of the question, methodology, clarity of argumention and relevance of the results. The contributions are intended to fill a substantial gap in historiography and will contribute to enhancing a fundamental part of the Central European cultural heritage.

The book will be disseminated through the Italian National Library System in collaboration with the Isontina State Library and presented at regional and international level. The live streaming filming of the conference will also be available for subsequent use via the Youtube channel.

The project will also involve students from universities and high schools through an award for one or more papers on the history of the Cobenzl family in relation to the territory and international dynamics in the period considered (XVI-XIX century).

The project is coordinated by the Scientific Committee composed of:

- Alessio Stasi (Theological Faculty of Triveneto),
- Lucia Pillon (freelance archivist),
- Federico Vidic (diplomat, Institute of Social and Religious History of Gorizia).