The Municipality of Šempeter-Vrtojba

The municipality of Šempeter-Vrtojba consists of two settlements, namely Šempeter pri Gorici and Vrtojba. It lies in the western part of Slovenia in the Goriška statistical region, on the border with Italy and south of Nova Gorica, which is the centre of this region. It stands out in terms of strong economic indicators, high percentage of well-educated residents and high standard of living as well as for a high expenditure for environmental protection and sustainable energy.
From an economic point of view, the area of the municipality is very interesting. This is an important traffic hub for the major road and rail links. The dominant economic sectors are logistics, transport and trade. The municipality’s position on the border enables daily contacts between Slovenes on both sides of the border as well as with Italians and Friulians (an Italian minority). The wealth of connections and the cooperation can be seen in a pretty lively exchange of cultural and material goods.
The area is interesting also from a landscape and climate perspective. The excellent soil composition and the mild climate offer the best conditions for viticulture, fruit farming, horticulture, olericulture and floriculture. In terms of tourism, there are many attractive cultural landmarks, such as the Coronini Manor, where the town hall is located, the Maffei manor-house, churches and old wells. As for recreation, the area is suitable for cycling, hiking on the hills with a view on the sea and other activities on the well-maintained trim trail.

The municipality has considerable experience in participating in European projects, including Italy-Slovenia cross-border programmes. It was part of several projects to promote the sustainable development and the environmental protection, among others also in the fields of energy efficiency, public lighting and improving energy performances in buildings. To take part in the project means an upgrade of the results so far and the acquisition of a technical basis and competences for further implementation of energy efficiency measures. The objective is to contribute to the dissemination of knowledge and experience in the field of energy efficiency measures in the cross-border area of ​​the programme.