The UNESCO world heritage site of Aquileia in northeastern in Italy and the pilgrimage site of Sveta Gora in western Slovenia have been linked with a new 82-kilometre-long trail called the Goriška Camino or Iter Goritiense.

Designed as Nova Gorica and Gorizia came together for the first cross-border European Capital of Culture, the pathway crosses the national border several times, passing through the two cities and visiting several landmarks on the way.

Four stages with final climb to Holy Mountain

The trail starts off with a 28 km flat stage beginning in Aquileia, one of the largest and wealthiest cities of the Early Roman Empire and a former patriarchate of the Roman Catholic Church.

Stage 2 (24 km) runs from Sagrado, crossing into Slovenia through the more rugged terrain of the windswept region of Kras/Carso, to finish at Miren Castle, which is not a castle, but a monastery. The most challenging section of this stage is the steep descent from the Peace Monument at Cerje, a 25-metre observation tower located at an altitude of 343 metres.

Stage 3 (13 km) leads back to Italy to finish in Gorizia. The final stage (17 km) takes hikers through Nova Gorica to Sveta Gora, a hill topped by a basilica and monastery at an elevation of 682 metres. The climb is the most challenging part of the camino.

In Aquileia, the hikers receive a pilgrim passport where they collect 12 stamps on the way, and on Sveta Gora they obtain a certificate proving they have walked the route.

"It seemed optimal to complete the route in four days. Some people will obviously complete it in two or three days, while others will need five or six," Nace Novak, an experienced hiker who designed the Slovenian part of the route, told the Slovenian Press Agency.

The Italian section was designed by Andrea Bellavite, director of the Socoba Foundation, which manages the Basilica of Aquileia. Both him and Novak have walked several caminos, including the 800-kilometre Camino Frances, the Way of St James, which runs from France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

Pathway that connects people

The idea to use the European Capital of Culture for a project that connects people was thought up by Bellavite and Father Bogdan Knavs, the guardian of the Franciscan Monastery of Sveta Gora. "I like to say that it all started because of our friendship," says Bellavite, who has also designed the Cammino Celeste from Aquileia to Mount Lussari.

"Before the European Capital of Culture, there were various open calls and Father Knavs and I thought why not apply for a route along the lines of the more famous caminos and at the same time rebuild the monastery on Sveta Gora."

Featuring a basilica with spectacular Roman-era floor mosaics and the remains of the ancient Roman city, Aquileia has been a UNESCO site since 1998. Founded by the Romans at the end of the 2nd century BC, it became one of the most important centres from where Christianity spread to Central Europe, including among the Slovenes, at the beginning of the first millennium.

The pilgrimage centre of Sveta Gora, which translates as Holy Mountain, traces its history back to 1539 when a local shepherdess had a vision in which the Virgin Mary commanded her to tell the people to build her a church. There are records of a pre-existing 14th century church there, likely torn down by the Turks in 1470.

Following the apparition, a temporary wooden chapel was built and then a pilgrim shrine, which was consecrated in 1544 by the deputy of the patriarch of Aquileia. As digging was done to make the foundations for the shrine, a stone slab with carved ornaments and the Hail Mary prayer from an earlier church was unearthed.

Roots, wounds and rebirth

Apart from providing an opportunity for walking, exercise and introspection, the trail is also a way to learn about the the region's rich heritage. Its three thematic segments - roots, wounds and rebirth - reflect the historical and spiritual heritage of Goriška.

The roots are in Aquileia, which Slovenians too saw as the birthplace of Christianity. Bellavite notes that Črtomir, the hero of The Baptism on the Savica, the epic poem by Romantic poet France Prešeren, goes to Aquileia to learn about the new religion.

The wounds are mainly in Kras, which witnessed the bloodbath of the First World War, but also in the wider area, affected by the devastating impact of fascism and the Second World War.

Meanwhile, Gorizia and Nova Gorica, as one Capital of Culture, represent a rebirth or resurrection, because through their collaboration, "they have become more than what they used to be individually", Bellavite says.

The points of interest along the way include walking along a calm stretch of the Soča, which Novak notes is not typical of the emerald river on the Slovenian side of the border, as well as the church of Santa Maria in Monte with Renaissance frescoes, and the open-air museums with WWI caverns at Debela Griža and Brestovec.

There are also landmarks from the post-era period like the Miren Cemetery where the border literally cut through the graves in the period between 1947 and 1974, and the military watchtower in Vrtojba, Slovenia's smallest museum.

Climbing up the Kostanjevica monastery above Nova Gorica, the hikers can visit the library keeping precious manuscripts and the Burbouns' tomb. Down in the "new town" they will see its first tower block, the Perla casino, a series of monuments, such as the one honouring aviator pilot and air plane constructor Edvard Rusjan, and several iconic buildings.

Test for longer hikes

Novak, who has written two books about his experience of walking pilgrimage routes, says the short Goriška Camino has everything that the big ones have, so it's good practice for longer hikes.

The path is marked with Solomon's Knot, an ancient symbol of eternity that appears on the mosaics of the Basilica of Aquileia.

Because it was not possible to place markers all along the route, hikers can download GPX files from the itergoritiense.eu website onto their phones.

Novak and Bellavite will publish a guide to the camino this year, and are also considering marking the route in the opposite direction, from Sveta Gora to Aquileia, and tracing out a cycling version.

Due to the mild climate, the camino can be walked all year round. It has attracted a lot of interest too. Most of the visitors are Slovenians, followed by Italians. "Every day I get a call from someone who wants to know more details," says Novak.

Bellavite has no doubt the Goriška Camino will catch on. Novak says they still have to promote it with travel agencies, and they want to train more guides.

Believers, non-believers and other kinds of believers

The hostel on Sveta Gora has been renovated to provide accommodation for 28 people as well as a new canteen and a lecture room. Being a good base to explore the area's impressive natural beauty and many sights, it attracts visitors from all over the world.

Father Knavs says that Sveta Gora draws "believers, non-believers and other-kinds of believers alike, because for many it's a symbol of peace and of the bonds and friendship among all people of good will".

It is difficult to estimate how many pilgrims visit the site each year, but 5,000 turn up in the period between Christmas and 10 January alone. They also come in larger numbers during Lent, between Ash Wednesday and Easter.

Asked about the meaning of pilgrimage today, the Franciscan father says "a longing for transcendence and inner peace" is what hiking and Sveta Gora have in common.