Palazzo Lantieri has been an important cultural reference point for centuries, not only for Gorizia
and its county, but for Central Europe as well. It was built in the 14th century to guard the south-western
entrance to the city. Various alterations were carried out to enlarge and adorn it, resulting in its slow
transformation from fortress into the noble dwelling we see today. Its famous guests have included
the French royal family, Pope Pius VI, the Archduchess of Austria Maria Theresa and Napoleon, as well
as important cultural figures such as Goethe, Schiller, Goldoni, Pietro Metastasio, Casanova and
Lorenzo da Ponte, all of whom mention it in their writings.

Today, Palazzo Lantieri offers its guests a unique version of this inherited tradition: in the two large
reception rooms are installations by some of the best artists of the international avantgarde, works that are
symbols of a continuing dialogue between past and present, memory and modernity and history and art.