Slipping through the woods of Val Rosandra, how could anyone imagine they’d stumble upon a place called Bottazzo? Bottazzo, a seemingly insignificant hamlet, holds a unique place in Trieste’s border history. Before the fall of the Iron Curtain, this village, nestled along the Rosandra stream, served as an unlikely gateway between Italy and Yugoslavia. Imagine, a small bridge spanning the stream. On one side, a Yugoslav guard post. On the other, an Italian one. This seemingly simple scene at Bottazzo epitomized the divided world of the time. Though a border checkpoint existed here, the paths of Val Rosandra, winding through Bottazzo, presented a tempting shortcut for those daring to cross unofficially. A misplaced step on a hiking trail, a wrong turn in the woods, could lead to a surprise encounter with the Yugoslav milica. The stern “Stoj!” (Stop!) from a soldier, the subsequent trip to the Koper station for questioning, became a shared experience, a tale woven into the fabric of life along the border. Ironically, starting in 1981, Bottazzo hosted an “open borders” day, a symbolic gesture toward a future where such divisions would be erased. Today, the guard posts are gone, the bridge stands as a quiet testament to a divided past. Yet, the memory of Bottazzo, a small village straddling two worlds, persists in the minds of those who lived through the era of closed borders.
Центральный дом работников искусств
Step through the grand wooden doors of the Central House of the Workers of Art, and you’ll be transported to