FERTILE CROSSROADS OF CULTURES
It is widely known that if you marry a ‘Brika’ (a woman from Goriška brda), you do not need a dog, as is sung by the well-known singer-songwriter Iztok Mlakar. How much truth is in this I haven’t tried, but the locals are known for being persistent, fearless and hard working people. Think of the top Slovenian winemakers, who are almost as a rule of Goriška brda or Collia Movia: Klinec, Bjana, Kabaj Morel, Gravnar, Primosic, Radikon, Keber, La Subida, Il Giardinetto are but a few of the wine and culinary names that can leave nobody indifferent.
Wine growing Brda is not only a land of wine and fruit, but a region in the ethnic, economic and cultural crosswinds. In its bosom are hiding a number of cultural attractions, both in the administrative centre of Brda – in Dobrovo, which boasts a Renaissance castle from the 17th century – as well as in Vipolže or Števerjen in Collio (San Floriano del Collio). Almost at every Brda hill, in the middle of a tight village, you can find a church. Church steeples attract the eye, as some resemble small fortresses. Brda is also interesting architecturally because of the preserved medieval architecture of many of the old houses. Most of them are in Šmartno, one of the most beautiful villages, with a monumental fortress with defence towers and walls from the 16th century.
The old fortified Mediterranean villages and wine-growing hills, from which there is view over the Friuli and all the way to the Venice lagoon, make the landscape extremely varied. The experiential value is complemented by the reputation of the land of cherries and wine in combination with the Mediterranean climate and vineyards on terraced ridges. After the Second World War, two-thirds of the territory went to Yugoslavia and one-third to Italy, the Italian part of Goriška brda becoming known as Collio.
Throughout the Middle Ages Brda was demarcated between the Austrian provinces and territories of the Venetians. Therefore, numerous forts, castles and fortified villages were created. Castles in Dobrovo, in Vipolže, Cerovo and Kojsko are from those times. The defining feature of Brda are the large clustered villages on the slopes in authentic Mediterranean disarray and compressed into a small space. They share a market in the village centre. Perhaps the most remarkable jewel is the fortress town Šmartno, or ‘village of seven towers’, which has a surprisingly respectful attitude towards its cultural heritage. In Brda you will not find an urban centre, with local residents frequenting Gorizia and Udine. Interestingly, a similar appearance of Brda has been maintained on both sides of the border. In both parts the cultural landscape is dominated by large terraced vineyards.
The main activities in Brda are agriculture and tourism, but not just regular tourism, rather eco-tourism, onto which they have focused intensely in recent times. It should be noted that this is a young industry, as a tourist information centre was established in 2000 and the Consortium Brda in 2003. The tourist offer is almost entirely related to agriculture and most of accommodation capacities are on farms. A typical example is Medana, where such an offer is virtually available at every homestead. The excellent promotion of wine and fruit also attracts many visitors, especially daily tourists. The basis for the development of convention tourism, in addition, are the cultural and entertainment events in Brda: the locals are great hosts.
The prerequisite for the development of tourism are accommodation facilities, for which only a decade ago there were only a dozen, but today in Brda there are more than 467 beds in some hotels and 15 farms with accommodation. Under construction is a hotel in Šmartno. In addition, on the Slovenian side of Brda there are 54 ‘open door’ farms and 38 taverns and restaurants with indigenous Brda food. The main accommodation facilities are in two smaller hotels in Kozana and Neblo. The largest tourist centre, Venko in Neblo that in a typical castle-style, offers a hotel with 32 rooms, a restaurant and a gaming lounge. In Kozana, in a pleasantly converted old school, there is hotel Kozana. In Collio is the luxury hotel Castello di Spezza in a renovated mansion. Recently they have renovated a lot of the apartments to the highest quality.
Otherwise, in Brda there is no shortage of different pearls, such as the Briška butiechia shop opened this summer with Souvenirs at the Castle Dobrovo. In Šmartno guests can be impressed by the Marica house behind the mighty walls within the picturesque medieval village. There is also no shortage of boutique hotels, such as Gredič hotel with its superb restaurant in a former Codelli family villa. The hotel is beautifully renovated and could easily be placed among the design hotels.
If you want to feel some prestige, the right address is the legendary restaurant La Subida in Krmin, which is crowned with a Michelin star. The hedonistic Kingdom of the Sirk family includes a riding centre, tennis courts, swimming pool and a range of forest houses with sleeping facilities. In the Šmartno hotel San Martin is going to open this fall with an innovative wine wellness, winemaker Simčič has opened a brand new tourist facility villa Alma Vista. You can also discover Brda in an original way on electric scooters and electric bicycles. Roaming around on both sides of Brda is particularly interesting with legendary yellow scooters. Brici (as the locals are called) are not running out of ideas for tourism development.
Brda is not designed for mass meeting tourism; it is a boutique destination that also actually functions. It has started with wine and culinary tastings. Today, however, they offer everything from incentives on electric Vespas to jeep safari among the picturesque vineyards. In addition to the meetings hall at the Hotel Venko, the largest hall is in the largest Slovenian wine cellar, Goriška Brda, in the heart of the Collio Brda wine production. A prestigious conference room is also in the wine house Bjana and House Iaquin. With a little imagination you will be able to arrange and reorganise smaller rooms at virtually all Brda tourist farms, with special meeting adventures popular in Medana, such as meeting with a beautiful view of the Belica garden farmhouses, or across the street at the Klinec farm. An ideal place for seminars and guided tastings of wine is the Brdo winery on the premises of Dobrovo castle. There is a lot on offer in Brda, but it is necessary to insist on local particularities and quality of supply – Brda is known for tourism, less as a convention destination.
Brda attracted conference guests with its rich oeno-gastronomic offer, and in addition with cultural-historical sights and unique landscapes. The Brda border region has an extraordinary meetings industry potential, which is powered by three important factors: tradition, entry into the EU, and good examples of neighbouring Friuli. The destination is lacking a slightly better convention image, which would immediately improve its competitiveness.
Destination grade: 3,78 – QUALITY MEETINGS DESTINATION
Grades:
5 excellent meetings destination
4 quality meetings destination
3 recommendable meetings destination
2 average meetings destination
1 so so
Individual grades:
A. Natural and cultural factors 4,60
Brda is synonymous with an attractive and picturesque hilly landscape, where one brings his or her conference guests for nature, food and wine. A combination of these three elements gives Brda a special charm, which together with the Mediterranean climate is reminiscent of Tuscany.
B. General and transport infrastructure 3,60
Brda has a good strategic location, just an hour from Venice. Goriška brda were once geographically remote, but today the closeness of the motorway infrastructure allows easy and quick access and is bringing the area closer to ‘air guests’ through the nearby airports of Ronchi and Venice. The relative isolation has largely retained the traditional settlement and originality, which the locals are eager to maintain through the cultural landscape.
C. Tourist infrastructure 3,70
Tourism in Brda is based on unspoiled nature, food and drink. Brda is known for its affordable accommodation options in tourist farms, which are highly fragmented and scattered in the surrounding hills. The lack of accommodation could be addressed by converting a number of unused objects with a sense of proportion and sustainability.
D. Meetings infrastructure 3,10
Meetings capacities in Brda are boutique and highly dispersed but impress with their authenticity and genuine convention experience. The entire destination as something special is calling for greater connectivity and integration, as it is an exceptional convention product focusing on incentives, which is completely unused. It is necessary to make an inventory of the offer on both sides of the border and introduce common and more targeted marketing.
E. Subjective grade 3,90
In recent years Goriška Brda has gained recognition as a tourist destination. It is also suitable for small conference groups looking for an authentic experience. More and more congress organisers are looking precisely for this.
Comparision with the region:
A number of the features of Brda make it special and unique in the wider area. In the first place is its openness to the sea, creating a pleasant Mediterranean climate, followed up by its natural beauty with rich cultural heritage and eco-preserved countryside with exceptional culinary and wine offer, unrivalled in the region.
A panorama of hills with a cluster of agglomerations and subdivided farmland and countless terraced vineyards is certainly one of the most beautiful Italian-Slovenian landscape-aesthetic experiences. In the field of tourism-convention offer, Brda is perhaps the future formula of tourism development: “less is more”. The convention fate of Brda and Collio is in co-operation and joint promotion.
Cool meetings:
Frtaja is fried omelette made with beaten eggs, flour and a little milk, into which locals mix a blend of fresh, finely chopped spices: cabbage heart, chives, green baby fennel, “madrjalca” (‘white gate’) and sage.