(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 8 - "The European Capital of Culture for 2025 will again involve an Italian city, Gorizia, an indispensable partner in the cross-border candidacy of Slovenia's Nova Gorica, which won the title. Italy is and should be proud of this recognition. This step finally brings to light the vicissitudes of a territory, that of Gorizia, through which the history of Europe has passed, and a dramatic border has profoundly marked the communities that inhabit it. But the citizens of Nova Gorica in Slovenia and Gorizia in Italy have been able to overcome divisions and have decided to rebuild their future together, becoming a model and a symbol for Europe and thus gaining due recognition for their extraordinary effort." Italy's Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, said.

"On February 8, 2025, the European Capital of Culture Nova Gorica-Gorizia will kick off - he added - and my counterpart, Slovenian Culture Minister Asta Vrecko, is making this same announcement. February 8 is not a random day. It's the long-standing Culture Day in Slovenia, linked to the writer France Prešeren. But it also coincides with the birth of one of our greatest poets, Giuseppe Ungaretti, who got to know this territory during World War I as a soldier and wrote some of his unforgettable verses here," Minister Sangiuliano pointed out.

"But it also coincides with the birth of one of our greatest poets, Giuseppe Ungaretti, who knew this territory during World War I as a soldier and wrote some of his unforgettable verses here," Minister Sangiuliano pointed out. (ANSA).