New student accommodation residence of the University of Nova Gorica
Today the University of Nova Gorica has formally opened its rennovated student accommodation premises in Palazzo Paternolli on the central city square Travnik (Piazza della Vittoria) in Gorizia, Italy.
The building was formally opened by the Rector of the University of Nova Gorica Prof. Dr. Boštjan Golob, the Vice-president of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and Minister for Slovenians Abrod Matej Arčon, Mayor of Gorizia Rodolfo Ziberna, and Roberto Visconti, president of the Visconti group in the role of the primary investor and creator of the rennovation project.
The Palazzo Paternolli, situated near the church on the central square, is some 1,3 km away from the University of Nova Gorica premises in Rožna Dolina and is 1,5 km away from the Railway station in Nova Gorica. Also, the University’s locations are inter-connected by means of an organised transport.
The new students’ halls of residence offer 60 eqipped accommodation units, among them 45 single rooms, 6 double rooms and 3 rooms for students with special needs. The building’s overall space is 1.732 m², and each room has its own bathroom and a kitchen, providing the students with comfortable conditions for life and study. There is a fitness space on the ground floor, where one can also find a tourist information office of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia land.
An estimated cost of a monthly rent in the new student halls of residence will be in the range of 180 to 280 eur, with the university aiming at an even lower cost and the opportunity for obtaining subsidy for student accommodation in line with the Slovenian legislation.
On the occasion of the opening ceremony, the Rector, Prof. Dr. Boštjan Golob, pointed out that the Palazzio Paternolli represented an important step towards the actualisation of the University’s long-term infrastructure strategy. »With the new accommodation premises, we want to ensure that the students from different environments and countries have quality conditions for their life and study« he said. He added that the project had been created in an excellent cooperation with the local environment, which recognised the importance of developing the university space, and that the opening of the accommodation halls was the first step towards a mutual development and a greater visibility of the region in the field of higher education and science. »Through cooperation with the institutions in Slovenia and Italy, the University of Nova Gorica would like to contribute to the development of the cross-border space, in which young people will study, do their research anc build their future career«, he added.
The Mayor of Gorizia, Rodolfo Ziberna, stressed the importance of the cross-border cooperation project. He pointed out that Gorizia, in line with the spirit of the GO! 2025 project, is a space in which culture - in this case, academic education - was realised as a cross-road of encounters. The Palazzo Paternolli will host the students of the University of Nova Gorica ad well as the students from various countries and environments, which will create a lively space of knowledge and intertwined living. »In this way, Gorizia strenghtens its position as an attractive city in the field of university life and youth services«, he added.
The Mayor of Nova Gorica, Samo Turel, emphasised that the local municipality had been paying great attention to the University’s endeavours to place its key locations into Nova Gorica. »This is an important step not only for the University’s development but also for the future of Nova Gorica as an open, creative space enriched with knowledge«, he said. The Mayor is very happy to see that the University understands its cross-border dimension not only as an idea but as a real actualisation, aiming to incorporate its activities, contents and presence into both Nova Gorica and the neighbouring Gorizia. According to him, the acquisition and rennovation of Palazzio Paternolli for the purpose of student accommodation is a concrete expression of this vision. »Such steps strenghten the space in which knowledge, young people, cooperation anf mutual future all meet together. It is in this that we see a continuation of the spirit of the European capital of culture - in building connections, opening borders and creating a mutual cross-border space, in which the University plays an important develpmental and connecting role«.
The premises in the new students’ halls of residence will be available to all students, though it is the students of the University of Nova Gorica who will naturally have an advantage in the application process. At the same time, the accommodation will be available to the students involved in the mobility programmes and to the visiting professors of the Across alliance.
The new student premises in the Palazzo Paternolli represent an important step in the development strategy of the University of Nova Gorica infrastructure, which strongly believes in the rapid development of the unified cross-border region, often called the region of the European capital of culture.
Prepared by: Andreja Leban
