  We present a sample of 8 nearby Seyfert 2 galaxies observed by HST and
Chandra. All of the sources present soft X-ray emission which is coincident in
extension and overall morphology with the [OIII] emission. The spectral
analysis reveals that the soft X-ray emission of all the objects is likely to
be dominated by a photoionized gas. This is strongly supported by the 190 ks
combined XMM-Newton/RGS spectrum of Mrk3, which different diagnostic tools
confirm as being produced in a gas in photoionization equilibrium with an
important contribution from resonant scattering. We tested with the code CLOUDY
a simple scenario where the same gas photoionized by the nuclear continuum
produces both the soft X-ray and the [OIII] emission. Solutions satisfying the
observed ratio between the two components exist, and require the density to
decrease with radius roughly like $r^{-2}$, similarly to what often found for
the Narrow Line Region.
