The church on a hill above the city of Nova Gorica whose crypt contains the remains of the last French king has been all but restored to its original splendour ahead of its 400th anniversary next year. Now that the restoration of the nave has been completed, work will start on the presbytery.

The Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady, also known among the locals as the Chappel, forms part of the complex of the Kostanjevica Franciscan Monastery.

Its crypt contains the tomb of the Bourbons, including the last French king, King Charles X, who settled in Gorizia in 1836, having fled the revolution in his county.

Some of the royal family's symbols have been rediscovered during restoration of the frescoes in the church's nave. This started in 2017 and in November the restored frescoes were blessed.

Minka Osojnik, a conservation specialist from the Nova Gorica unit of the Institute of Cultural Heritage, said restoration yielded many secrets beneath past repaints and renovations.

After removing repaints of the motif of Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted, in a lunette, conservationists found a black vase, which had been painted over with blue, as well as a third lily in the vase.

The motif is linked to the Bourbons, whose remains are buried right below the lunette. The vase represents a burial urn and the three lilies are a symbol that also appears on the coat of arms of the House Bourbons.

"The restoration of the lunette was extremely challenging because it contained so many layers of paint. It was difficult to remove all the dirt and grime and inadequate repaints," Osojnik said.

Another problem was that the frescoes were by two different authors from two different periods, which the restoration specialists had to bring together in a way.

Also restored have been the stucco decorations, which are considered the finest from the period in Slovenia.

The cost of the renovation project was around €300,000, but now about now as much will be needed to restore the presbytery. Funds are already being raised. An auction of donated wines has netted over €60,000 for the cause, said Father Niko Žvokelj, the head of the Franciscan Monastery.

Mirjam Brecelj, the monastery's librarian, said they would like the renovation of the presbytery to be completed by 2025, when Nova Gorica hosts the European Capital of Culture with Italy's Gorizia.

The church was partly destroyed during the First World War, but was later rebuilt. Along with the monastery, it was also damaged in an earthquake in 1976. It had been a risk to the visitors since.

"A minor tremor and it could all have fallen to the ground," the Franciscan father said. "We also wanted to feel the original beauty of the church," he said about a further motive for the renovation.