Alessandro Barbero in Kobarid

On September 27, 2025, a special historical event will take place in Kobarid, where renowned Italian historian Alessandro Barbero will talk about the dramatic battle and the defeat of the Italian army at Kobarid in 1917. The event will be introduced by Slovenian theatre actor and award-winning journalist Janko Petrovec. This will be the second of three major cross-border cultural events within the Interreg project BeWoP.

In the year when the cities of Nova Gorica and Gorizia jointly hold the title of European Capital of Culture, a special historical event will take place on September 27, 2025.

Renowned Italian historian Prof. Alessandro Barbero will commemorate the defeat at Caporetto.

The event will also be available in the Slovene language and will take place at the very site where the dramatic 1917 battle unfolded—when Austro-German artillery broke through Italian defensive lines in just a few hours. 

This is one of the most harrowing historical events, deeply embedded in the collective memory—with 12,000 dead, 30,000 wounded, and 300,000 soldiers taken prisoner—and it serves as a point of shared remembrance between Italy and Slovenia. 

The event will begin in Kobarid, where Prof. Barbero, author of the book Caporetto (2017, Laterza), will deliver an inspiring and accessible account of the battle, which is not only an outstanding example of military history but also a reflection of the Italian social context of the time.

The event will be introduced by Janko Petrovec, a theater actor, multiple award-winning journalist, and long-time collaborator with RTV Slovenia. 

From 2016 to 2024, he served as a correspondent from Rome and is now the editor-in-chief of Radio Koper. 

Admission is free until all available seats are filled. Shuttle transport from parking areas to the venue near the ossuary will be provided. On the same day, the Walk of Peace Foundation in the Soča Region will organize guided tours. All information will be available on the èStoria website: www.estoria.it

The event is the second of three major cross-border cultural events under the project “Beyond Walk of Peace: from Crossborder Historical Research and Cultural Heritage to European Trail and Stories,” co-financed by the European Union within the Interreg VI-A Italy–Slovenia Programme. Project partners include the Walk of Peace Foundation in the Soča Region, EGTC GO, ZRC SAZU, PromoTurismoFVG, the Municipality of Miren-Kostanjevica, and the cultural association èStoria. 

More information: www.ita-slo.eu/it/bewop