In 2025, Nova Gorica (Slovenia) and Gorizia (Italy) will become the European capital of culture. The two cities, since the challenging years following World War II, have always found ways to dialogue, cooperate, and jointly solve problems, thanks in part to the presence of a Slovenian community that played a key role in bridging relations with the institutions of what was then Yugoslavia, now Slovenia. The intense activity in cross-border cooperation over the past three decades has been an opportunity to promote new modes of interaction and cross-border governance, of which the Gect/Ezts GO (European grouping of territorial cooperation) is a concrete expression. The surrounding area features a particularly significant wealth of natural, historical-cultural, and linguistic-identity resources. The bid book for the two cities' candidacy, GO! Borderless, highlighted the projects supporting its cross-border nature. The main goal of the project is to improve the quality of life for residents in the cities and the surrounding area, by focusing resources on creating a new cultural, tourist, economic, and educational entity. This is aimed at enhancing investments and the economic development of the area and attracting tourist groups interested in the world of culture. The contribution analyses the strengths and weaknesses of the tourist offer, the sentiment of current and potential tourists, and the opportunity of the event to strengthen the touristic image of the territory and the cities themselves: multilingual, green, young, innovative, and rewarding knowledge. But, first, the contribution tries to define the meaning of the “local cross-border community” and how it is discussed with issues of event and management from a tourism perspective and its current and future identity and sense of belonging.
