ITALY: FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA REGION
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Welcome to Friuli Venezia Giulia
Nestled in northeastern Italy, Friuli Venezia Giulia is one of Europe’s best-kept secrets. The small but vibrant region has so much to offer the visitor, from mountain vistas, seaside castles, and enchanting wineries.
1. UDINE-Udine is a city in northeastern Italy, the city my husband was born and raised in. The hilltop Udine Castle from the 1500'sis home to several museums and an art gallery with works by Tiepolo and Caravaggio. It has views of the city and surrounding mountains. The stunning central Piazza della Libertà has Renaissance buildings, including the pink-and-white-marble Loggia del Lionello and a clock tower. Udine's Cathedral has a baroque interior and frescoes from the famous artist Tieoplo.
2. CIVIDALE DEL FRIULI-A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Cividale del Friuli is a picturesque small town in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of north-eastern Italy. It makes a good stop on a tour of the area, and is an easy and enjoyable day out from the larger town of Udine. There are a few tourist sights, but most of all it is a place to spend several hours ambling, admiring the town and relaxing with local food and wine. Cividale del Friuli is most famous for its Lombard history, and a past which was more exalted that its sleepy present-day atmosphere suggests. Cividale's official history begins on a precise date: 50BC, when the town was founded by Julius Caesar. Named Forum Julii, it later gave its name, with the pronunciation mangled, to the whole Friuli region. In the sixth century, when Lombard warriors headed south into Italy, they established one of their early capitals here at Cividale. Two hundred years later, the region's religious power, the Patriarch of Aquileia, transferred his patriarchate here. So for several centuries Cividale was the base for first temporal and then religious authority in the area, and the city's richest monuments and artifacts are a legacy of that era. Later, nearby Udine grew in importance and Cividale is now just a pleasant market town with a lovely setting and some fine sights to attract tourists like the Lombard Temple.
3. TRIESTE-Trieste is the capital city of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region in northeast Italy. A port city, it occupies a thin strip of land between the Adriatic coast and Slovenia’s border on the limestone-dominated Karst Plateau. Italian, Austro-Hungarian and Slovenian influences are all evident in its layout, which encompasses a medieval old city and a neoclassical Austrian quarter.
4. CASTELLO MIRAMARE-Miramare Castle is a 19th-century castle on the Gulf of Trieste near Trieste, northeastern Italy. It was built from 1856 to 1860 for Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian and his wife, Charlotte of Belgium, later Emperor Maximilian I and Empress Carlota of Mexico, based on a design by Carl Junker. The castle's grounds include an extensive cliff and seashore park of 22 hectares (54 acres) designed by the archduke. The grounds were completely re-landscaped to feature numerous tropical species of trees and plants.
5. AQUILEIA-A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Aquileia is found lies between Gorizia and Trieste. 2000 years ago, Aquileia was a large and thriving Roman town - it is now a much quieter place, but contains important ruins and monuments that remain from its heyday. Unfortunately much of the city was destroyed by Attila in the 5th century then pillaged and used for building materials during later centuries.
6. PALMANOVA-A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Palmanova is a town and commune in northeastern Italy. The town is an excellent example of star fort of the Late Renaissance, built up by the Venetians in 1593.
7. SAN DANIELE DEL FRIULI-San Daniele del Friuli is a commune in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 80 kilometres northwest of Trieste and about 20 kilometres northwest of Udine. Internationally-acclaimed, San Daniele prosciutto, a PDO product (Protected Denomination of Origin), stands out from other Italian ham for its unique processing, which doesn’t involve removing the trotter.
8. SAPPADA: The village of Sappada (Plodn in german dialect sappadino, Bladen in German, Sapade Ploden or in Friulano, Sapada in ladin language) is a linguistic island German-speaking, as well as a note summer and winter tourist resort. Located between the historical regions of the Cadore and of Carnia, the northern offshoots of the Dolomites. Sappada is surrounded by imposing and impressive Dolomite massifs (UNESCO World heritage site), the landscape is characterized by green pastures and extensive woods of conifers; numerous waterfalls and the alpine lakes. A landscape still uncontaminated area in which the variety of animal and plant species live undisturbed.
9. SAURIS: Up towards Friuli's far northwest border, an insanely twisted road takes you past the plunging Lumiei Gorge to emerge at the intensely blue Lago di Sauris. Another 4km west is the village of Sauris di Sotto and another 4km on, eight switchbacks and a few dripping rock tunnels included, is the breathtakingly pretty Sauris di Sopra. These twin hamlets (in German, Zahre) are an island of unique dark timber houses and German-speakers, and are known for their fine hams, sausages and locally brewed beer. There are also lots of good walking trails, much fresh air and exquisite silence, plus in winter you're close to good, uncrowded local ski runs.
10. COLLIO WINE REGION: Collio Goriziano (sometimes designated simply as Collio or Collio DOC) is an Italian wine and wine making region in northeast Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located in the northernmost part of the Province of Gorizia, in the Italian part of the Gorizia Hills, which extend to neighboring Slovenia.Italian White Wine Heaven: Friuli-Venezia Giulia. While red wine lovers crush on Piedmont and Tuscany on the western side of Italy, the greatest white wines can be found in northeastern Italy.
Read MoreWelcome to Friuli Venezia Giulia
Nestled in northeastern Italy, Friuli Venezia Giulia is one of Europe’s best-kept secrets. The small but vibrant region has so much to offer the visitor, from mountain vistas, seaside castles, and enchanting wineries.
1. UDINE-Udine is a city in northeastern Italy, the city my husband was born and raised in. The hilltop Udine Castle from the 1500'sis home to several museums and an art gallery with works by Tiepolo and Caravaggio. It has views of the city and surrounding mountains. The stunning central Piazza della Libertà has Renaissance buildings, including the pink-and-white-marble Loggia del Lionello and a clock tower. Udine's Cathedral has a baroque interior and frescoes from the famous artist Tieoplo.
2. CIVIDALE DEL FRIULI-A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Cividale del Friuli is a picturesque small town in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of north-eastern Italy. It makes a good stop on a tour of the area, and is an easy and enjoyable day out from the larger town of Udine. There are a few tourist sights, but most of all it is a place to spend several hours ambling, admiring the town and relaxing with local food and wine. Cividale del Friuli is most famous for its Lombard history, and a past which was more exalted that its sleepy present-day atmosphere suggests. Cividale's official history begins on a precise date: 50BC, when the town was founded by Julius Caesar. Named Forum Julii, it later gave its name, with the pronunciation mangled, to the whole Friuli region. In the sixth century, when Lombard warriors headed south into Italy, they established one of their early capitals here at Cividale. Two hundred years later, the region's religious power, the Patriarch of Aquileia, transferred his patriarchate here. So for several centuries Cividale was the base for first temporal and then religious authority in the area, and the city's richest monuments and artifacts are a legacy of that era. Later, nearby Udine grew in importance and Cividale is now just a pleasant market town with a lovely setting and some fine sights to attract tourists like the Lombard Temple.
3. TRIESTE-Trieste is the capital city of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region in northeast Italy. A port city, it occupies a thin strip of land between the Adriatic coast and Slovenia’s border on the limestone-dominated Karst Plateau. Italian, Austro-Hungarian and Slovenian influences are all evident in its layout, which encompasses a medieval old city and a neoclassical Austrian quarter.
4. CASTELLO MIRAMARE-Miramare Castle is a 19th-century castle on the Gulf of Trieste near Trieste, northeastern Italy. It was built from 1856 to 1860 for Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian and his wife, Charlotte of Belgium, later Emperor Maximilian I and Empress Carlota of Mexico, based on a design by Carl Junker. The castle's grounds include an extensive cliff and seashore park of 22 hectares (54 acres) designed by the archduke. The grounds were completely re-landscaped to feature numerous tropical species of trees and plants.
5. AQUILEIA-A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Aquileia is found lies between Gorizia and Trieste. 2000 years ago, Aquileia was a large and thriving Roman town - it is now a much quieter place, but contains important ruins and monuments that remain from its heyday. Unfortunately much of the city was destroyed by Attila in the 5th century then pillaged and used for building materials during later centuries.
6. PALMANOVA-A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Palmanova is a town and commune in northeastern Italy. The town is an excellent example of star fort of the Late Renaissance, built up by the Venetians in 1593.
7. SAN DANIELE DEL FRIULI-San Daniele del Friuli is a commune in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 80 kilometres northwest of Trieste and about 20 kilometres northwest of Udine. Internationally-acclaimed, San Daniele prosciutto, a PDO product (Protected Denomination of Origin), stands out from other Italian ham for its unique processing, which doesn’t involve removing the trotter.
8. SAPPADA: The village of Sappada (Plodn in german dialect sappadino, Bladen in German, Sapade Ploden or in Friulano, Sapada in ladin language) is a linguistic island German-speaking, as well as a note summer and winter tourist resort. Located between the historical regions of the Cadore and of Carnia, the northern offshoots of the Dolomites. Sappada is surrounded by imposing and impressive Dolomite massifs (UNESCO World heritage site), the landscape is characterized by green pastures and extensive woods of conifers; numerous waterfalls and the alpine lakes. A landscape still uncontaminated area in which the variety of animal and plant species live undisturbed.
9. SAURIS: Up towards Friuli's far northwest border, an insanely twisted road takes you past the plunging Lumiei Gorge to emerge at the intensely blue Lago di Sauris. Another 4km west is the village of Sauris di Sotto and another 4km on, eight switchbacks and a few dripping rock tunnels included, is the breathtakingly pretty Sauris di Sopra. These twin hamlets (in German, Zahre) are an island of unique dark timber houses and German-speakers, and are known for their fine hams, sausages and locally brewed beer. There are also lots of good walking trails, much fresh air and exquisite silence, plus in winter you're close to good, uncrowded local ski runs.
10. COLLIO WINE REGION: Collio Goriziano (sometimes designated simply as Collio or Collio DOC) is an Italian wine and wine making region in northeast Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located in the northernmost part of the Province of Gorizia, in the Italian part of the Gorizia Hills, which extend to neighboring Slovenia.Italian White Wine Heaven: Friuli-Venezia Giulia. While red wine lovers crush on Piedmont and Tuscany on the western side of Italy, the greatest white wines can be found in northeastern Italy.
