Guided tours

Collegio dei Nobili

All three groups of visitors were filled, which shows the great interest of the public.

Under the guidance of the responsible conservator Dr Mojca Marjana Kovač z Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, Regional Unit Piran, the participants first visited the façade and the exterior of the historic building complex, which stands out in the architectural design of the building structure of residential and public buildings in Koper.
They continued their journey in the renovated indoor atrium and aulo magno (large hall), where they visited part of the school's extensive library collection, and then Museum, which holds a collection of didactic objects. These include various aids to illustrate physical, astronomical and mathematical phenomena, as well as natural history specimens of animals once used in the classroom.

V magni auditorium, where the most important book exhibits are displayed, is Marco Apollonio, a great expert in Italian and world literature, librarian and one of the literati of the Italian national community in Istria, presented a part of the school's book collection, which comprises approximately 20.000 titles. Among them are rare historical copies, Valvasor's works and a bestseller at the time. - Orlando Furioso (Orlando Furioso), the special features of the copy held by the school library are hand-coloured illustrations.

School library named after the donor Gian Rinaldo Carliu*, whose name is also borne by the gymnasium.

* Gian Rinaldo Carli (Koper, 11 April 1720 - Cusano Milanino, 13 February 1795) He was a scholar, writer, historian, economist, writer and encyclopaedist from Koper. He was born into the noble family of Carli. He studied at the College of Udine, where he graduated in philosophy. He began his studies in archaeology and history and wrote several important works, including “Delle antichità italiche” and “Della patria degli Argonauti”, in which he researched ancient Italy and Greek mythology. His work covers the fields of history, philosophy, economics, literature and politics. He was also active in correspondence with other great thinkers of the 18th century.

The school also has Museum of Educational Tools and Animals - Museo Gerosa*. Curator Loredana Sabaz highlighted the complexity of the maintenance and care of the collection, which, following the renovation, is housed in specially adapted exhibition cabinets located throughout the palace.

*Oreste Gerosa (Rovereto, 1850 - Koper, 1906) He studied at the University of Innsbruck, where he graduated and qualified to teach Italian, science, physics and mathematics. He taught in Rovereto and Trieste before becoming a full professor in Koper. He was an eminent teacher and scholar who made a significant contribution to the development of science teaching in Istria. Emilio Gerosa (Koper, 1873 - Koper, 1961) He was a physicist, mathematician and philosophically-minded scientist who followed the thought of great scholars such as Archimedes, Herodotus, Galileo and Descartes. He devoted most of his life to teaching and spreading scientific culture. He was also the long-standing director of the museum that now bears the name of the Gerosa family.

Due to the great interest of visitors the organisers - Municipality of Koper, Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia and the managements of Pier Paolo Vergerio il Vecchio Primary Schools and Gian Rinaldo Carli Gymnasium - decided to resuming guided tours in January 2026 the renovated Baroque palace, where the teaching process has been taking place since 1683, when the school building welcomes its first pupils.