Gradisca d'Isonzo
Gradisca d'Isonzo ( or ; ; archaic ) is a town and (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Gorizia in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, north-eastern Italy. The lawyer, linguist, philologist Philippe Sarchi was born in Gradisca d'Isonzo. It is a member of the ("The most beautiful villages of Italy") association. Geography The municipality is located in north-eastern Italy on the right bank of the Isonzo River, about southwest of Gorizia. It received town privileges on 14 July 1936. As of 2011, the population of Gradisca is about 6,580. The town is an important centre of the Friulian culture in the Julian Venetia region. History The town's name is a Slavic toponym: in archaic Slovene, gradišče (cf. gord) was a term indicating a fortified site or a ruin and is a widespread toponym in the Slovene Lands. The strategically-important area on the Isonzo River was probably already settled in Roman times and under the Kingdom of the Lombards, later exposed to the attacks by Hungarian forces on Northern Italy. The rural settlement of Gradisca is mentioned for the first time in 1176, when it had a mixed population of Slavic and Latin origin. It then belonged to the estate of Farra, held