The Bourbons of France in Gorizia. Memories and images of the exile

In 2025, the year in which Gorizia and Nova Gorica are the European Capital of Culture, the Palazzo Coronini Cronberg Foundation proposes an event centred on a historical moment that brought great fame and prestige to the city: the presence of the Bourbon court of France in exile for almost a decade.

On October 21, 1836, the city of Gorizia suddenly found itself at the center of European attention: Charles X of Bourbon, King of France, had arrived in exile with his court, following the July Revolution of 1830. Just a few days later, on November 6, the monarch, who had taken residence at Palazzo Coronini, died of cholera and was buried in the nearby monastery of Castagnevizzza.

Despite the king’s passing, the royal family chose to remain in Gorizia. 

His son, Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, his wife Marie-Thérèse Charlotte—the only surviving daughter of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette—and their young nephews, Henri, Count of Chambord, and Louise of Artois, lived for nearly a decade at Palazzo Strassoldo, leaving a profound mark on the city’s social and cultural life.

The steady arrival of travelers and royalist exiles fostered the study of the French language, while the local aristocracy, including the Coronini Counts, regularly attended dinners and receptions—now characterized by a sobriety far removed from the splendour of Versailles. 

Over the years, the monastery of Castagnevizzza—renamed the "Saint-Denis of exile"—became the burial place of the entire royal family, which came to an end in 1883 with the death of Henri, Count of Chambord.

He too, although he had settled in Frohsdorf near Vienna in 1845, maintained a strong connection to Gorizia, returning frequently, and receiving solemn funerary honours upon his death. 

Through a path marked by images, objects, and documents, the exhibition retraces the personal stories of Charles X and his descendants, also revealing their more intimate and human side: their character, emotional bonds, and the deep gratitude they felt towards the city that welcomed them with respect and discretion.

Opening times: Wednesday to Friday: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m., 3 p.m. - 6 p.m. Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.; 3 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Closed: Mondays and Tuesdays. closed: Christmas, 31st December, 1st January.