FRIULI-VENEZIA GIULIA

Friuli-Venezia Giulia: a border land par excellence, with the central European town of Trieste, crossroads of different cultures, its cosmopolitan personality and Neo-classical historical buildings, severe and imposing, most of them look out onto the sixteen thousand square metres of Piazza Unità d’Italia. But Trieste is disarming too, it can show all its colours in a bright burst of sunlight or through the white of Miramare castle, sheltered on an headland looking out onto the sea: built in obedience to the archduke Maximilian from Asburgo-Lorena’s will, it is one of the most interesting examples of a princely residence left in the XIXth century in Italy. The fishers village of Marano deeply lies in the light of the lagoon – a very old stronghold belonging to the Republic of Venice – and also Cividale del Friuli deserves to be visited since it is a place rich in artistic works of art that reveal the Roman, Longobardic and Episcopal traces.

But Friole is also a defence land, surrounded by the mountains, the Julian and the Carnic Alps that defeated Attila and remind the Great War. There are plenty of castles that open their doors to offer an exciting journey in the past. And Udine? It is the heart of the regional identity, a wreath of feudal castles, like the one in Gorizia that reminds the medieval origins of the town, set in a village surrounded by walls and old buildings.
Pordenone has many precious palaces, too, a Gothic town hall while the archaeological site of Aquileia (Udine) belonging to Unesco stands out, it is one of the most interesting Italian archaeological sites. Aquileia was founded by the Romans in 181 B.C. and it became the ninth town of the Empire and the forth in Italy. The heart of this opencast museum is represented by the Forum, the sacred Route alongside the river harbour, the Circus, the Amphitheatre and the Cemetery on the Annia Street. The Early- Christian Basilica of Aquileia is an historical treasure too, it dates back to 313 AD., with a 760 square metres mosaic floor, the widest of the Christian Western World.

A few kilometres from there the historical memories  dissolve into the sunny sand of beaches where the Mediterranean reaches the most Northern edge of Italy: the beaches of Grado, Lignano Sabbiadoro and Bibione, while among the peaks the regional natural park of Dolomites from Friuli stands out, a world of long and narrow valleys, old traditions and  Alpine huts. You can’t miss the park of Julian Pre-Alps and the Valcellina, with a number of villages that hold  the “ethnographic museums of the peasant art and civilisation”. There’s also a wide range of sports activities to perform, especially the  skiing in Piancavallo, in the Tarvisio area, in Ravascletto and Forni di Sopra and the mountain bike everywhere along many beautiful routes.

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