FRIULI-VENEZIA GIULIA · ITALY
Description:
Those who left their mark on the history of Friuli Venezia Giulia, a territory located in a natural transition zone, were the Veneti, the Euganeans and the Gallo-Celti. The Bronze civilisation brought to the region the spread of castellari, fortified villages perched on high ground in which the villagers engaged in animal husbandry.
The name Friuli is of Roman origin and derives from the city of Forum Iulii, today Cividale del Friuli: founded by Julius Caesar after the destruction of Aquileia at the hands of the Huns, it became capital of Regio X Venetia et Histria, a region into which Italy was divided. The passage of the Roman Empire is also evidenced by the Via Julia Augusta, an important road that connected Aquileia with Noricum, which was redeveloped for the first time in the time of Julius Caesar.
Aquileia was a flourishing Roman port city, founded as a colony and later becoming the capital of Regio X. A Christian community with strong ties to the patriarchal Church of Alexandria thrived here and the city also attracted St Ambrose in 318.
An important historical reality, the Patriarchate of Aquileia, created as an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire, was one of the largest dioceses throughout the European Middle Ages.
TRS
The main cities of FRIULI-VENEZIA GIULIA
If you are on holiday in Friuli Venezia Giulia, don't miss Trieste, a seaside city of poignant beauty, modern and ancient at the same time, for anything in the world. A pearl overlooking the Upper Adriatic Sea, in the gulf of the same name, it still shows signs of its Roman origins: its port, declared a free port in 1719 by Charles VI of Habsburg, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, is now the first in Italy for cargo traffic, with an increasingly important passenger terminal due to the reduction in the passage of large ships to Venice.
Visit Miramare Castle, built as a residence for Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Habsburg and his wife Charlotte of Belgium: its vast park is filled with rare plants, sculptures and ponds. Then the majestic Piazza Unità d'Italia, which has hosted crowned heads, sailors, merchants and men of letters from all eras.
Some 70 kilometres inland, there is Udine, Trieste's rival to which it is historically linked by a love-hate relationship. Little Venice on the mainland, as it is called thanks to its architectural harmony and artistic heritage, is equally unmissable: take a stroll around Piazza della Libertà with its loggias and arcades, arched windows with two and three lights; move on to the Loggia del Lionello, a landmark palace of ancient and extravagant origins; spend some time visiting the Castle of Udine, which houses rich museums.
Then there is Pordenone, The Painted City, because of the frescoed palaces that make the historic centre precious. Dynamic and creative, it is home to major international artistic, musical and literary events.
Aquileia is considered one of the most important archaeological sites in northern Italy, so important that since 1998 the early Christian ruins of Aquileia have been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Finally, Gorizia, a small and pleasant city whose Habsburg past is evident in the palaces and gardens that enrich it. A wonderful symbol of the troubled history of 20th century Europe.
