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.