Even the graves were traversed by geopolitics, in Miren, Slovenia. This cemetery was divided by the "Iron Curtain" during the Cold War period, when the region was split between the Western bloc and the Soviet bloc. The border literally crossed a space of eternal rest, symbolizing how the division between East and West penetrated all aspects of life, including places of memory and tribute to the dead.
Gorizia and Nova Gorica are two cities that share a common square, but this is not the only thing that unites them. The border that separated Italy from former Yugoslavia ran between these two towns, creating a division that profoundly affected the lives of its inhabitants for decades. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, these cities began to draw closer together again.
An Austro-Hungarian-style picnic became a symbol of the reconciliation process that helped end the Cold War in the region. This festive and symbolic event represented the overcoming of divisions imposed by geopolitics and marked the beginning of a new era of cooperation and understanding between communities that had been separated.
