KORZO VERDI / VERDI BOULEVARD

SLO

Korzo je od nekdaj središče mestnega življenja – prostor za sprehode, pozdrave, pogovore in ogledovanje izložb. Vsak Goričan ve, kaj pomeni “hoditi gor in dol po korzu” – brez posebnega cilja se sprehajati po glavni promenadi. Danes se do gledališča Verdi imenuje Korzo Verdi, nato pa vse do železniške postaje Korzo Italia. A za domačine je to vse preprosto Korzo.

V zadnjem stoletju je večkrat spremenil ime: od Franca Jožefa do Viktorja Emanuela III., v času nacistične uprave Korzo Ettore Mutti, po vojni za kratek čas Korzo Tito in nato Korzo Franklina D. Roosevelta. Vsa ta imena odsevajo politične pretrese, ki jih je doživelo mesto.

~ 1925 Tram na Korzu
Vir: Fond Giovanni Viola

Ob Korzu so bile trgovine, kavarne, knjigarne, parfumerije in delikatese. Križišče na drugem koncu Korza proti Travniku je prav tako zanimivo: tam stojita glavna pošta in pokrita tržnica. Pošta, dokončana leta 1932, eden izmed biserov italijanskega racionalizma v mestu – s stolpom, ki spominja na mestni zvonik, in notranjostjo okrašeno z mozaiki in freskami, stoji na mestu stare pokrite tržnice, ki so jo bombardirali med prvo svetovno vojno.

1917- Korzo med prvo svetovno vojno
Vir: Arhiv italijanskega Narodnega združenja borcev za osvobodilno vojno - www.combattentiliberazione. it Associazione Nazionale Combattenti Guerra di Liberazione inquadrati nei reparti regolari delle FF.AA.
Sezione Roma Capitale MOVM "Salvo D'Acquisto - Gastone Giacomini"

Nova pokrita tržnica, postavljena leta 1927, je danes redek ohranjen primer poznosecesijskega oblikovanja, z značilnimi zelenimi železnimi stojnicami in cementnimi ploščicami.

Do devetdesetih let 20. stoletja je Korzo, ta dvokilometrska promenada, doživljala pravi gospodarski razcvet. V tem obdobju so se tu vrstile številne trgovine in veleblagovnice, ki so ustvarjale utrip Korza kot mestnega nakupovalnega središča.

‘80 - Številne trgovine privabljajo kupce, opaziti je blagostanje Gorice in živahen utrip na glavni mestni ulici. 
Vir: Fond Giovanni Viola

Po nakupih so prihajali ljudje iz širše okolice in iz druge strani meje. Korzo je v tem času postal simbol potrošniške modernosti, a obenem ohranil značaj tistega sprehajališča iz 19. stoletja, ko so Gorici rekli »avstrijska Nica«: po Korzu so gor in dol, drug mimo drugega, hodile italijanščina, slovenščina, furlanščina in nemščina.
 

ENG

The Corso has always been the centre of city life – a place for strolling, greeting, chatting, and window shopping. Every Gorizian knows what it means to “walk up and down the Corso” – to wander along the main promenade without any particular purpose. Today, the stretch up to the Verdi Theatre is officially called Corso Verdi, and from there to the railway station Corso Italia. But for the locals, it is simply the Corso.

Over the past century, it has changed names several times: from Franz-Joseph-Korso to Corso Vittorio Emanuele III, under Nazi administration Corso Ettore Mutti, briefly Korzo Tito after the war, and later Corso Franklin D. Roosevelt. All these names reflect the political upheavals the city has experienced.

Along the Corso there were shops, cafés, bookshops, perfumeries, and delicatessens. The crossroads at the other end of the Corso, towards Piazza Vittoria/Travnik, is also of interest: there stand the main post office and the covered market. The post office, completed in 1932, is one of the gems of Italian rationalist architecture in the city – with a tower reminiscent of a bell tower and an interior decorated with mosaics and frescoes. It stands on the site of the old covered market, which was bombed during the First World War. The new covered market, built in 1927, is today a rare preserved example of late Secessionist design, with its distinctive green iron stalls and cement tiles.

Until the 1990s, the Corso – this two-kilometre-long promenade – experienced a true economic boom. During this period, it was lined with numerous shops and department stores, which contributed to the Corso’s vibrancy as the city’s main shopping district. People came to shop from the wider region and even from across the border. At the time, the Corso became a symbol of modern consumerism, while still retaining the character of the 19th-century promenade from the era when Gorizia was known as the “Austrian Nice”: along the Corso, Italian, Slovene, Friulian and German could all be heard mingling, as people strolled up and down, past one another.