Northern and Central Friuli

<< Friuli Venezia Giulia

The area around Udine and the hills just north of the city are known as Central Friuli, or Medio Friuli. This region features a few towns at the foot the hills with various historic attractions, such as Cividale del Friuli and San Daniele del Friuli. Further north is the mountainous Northern Friuli, or Alto Friuli. The historical alpine region of Carnia is in the northwest, with its main center being Tolmezzo. To the northeast are some alpine valleys and the town of Tarvisio, near the border with Austria and Slovenia.

Cividale del Friuli

Cividale del Friuli is a town in the Province of Udine and one of the historic capitals of Friuli, along with Aquileia and Udine. It was founded by the Romans as Forum Iulii, from which the name of the region of Friuli came from. In 568, the Lombards took the town and used it as their first capital in Italy, and Cividale flourished as the most important city in the area. The Lombards were later defeated but Cividale remained the capital of Friuli for many centuries, until 1238, when it was replaced by Udine. Cividale del Friuli is now a regional center mostly known for its remarkable medieval and especially Lombard architecture.

✪ Tempietto Longobardo

Also known as: Oratory of Santa Maria in Valle

The Tempietto Longobardo (“Small Lombard Temple”), part of the Monastery of Santa Maria in Valle, it’s the most important and well preserved example of Lombard architecture surviving to this day. It’s a tiny chapel erected during the 8th century, and it features various sculptures, frescoes, and decorations with influences from Roman and Carolingian art.

Cividale del Friuli Cathedral

Also known as: Duomo of Santa Maria Assunta

The Cathedral of Cividale del Friuli (Duomo di Cividale del Friuli) was built during the Renaissance over a previous medieval church and it houses various artworks and decorations, including the 13th-century Altarpiece of Pellegrino II (Pala di Pellegrino II). The church hosts the Christian Museum (Museo Cristiano), a collection of pieces of art and archaeological findings. The museum features some of the most important works of Lombard sculpture, among other artworks.

National Archaeological Museum of Cividale del Friuli

Located in the 16th-century Palazzo dei Provveditori Veneti, the National Archaeological Museum of Cividale del Friuli (Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Cividale del Friuli) hosts a rich collection showcasing the history of the city. The museum hosts a large section focused on Lombard art and culture, but also houses findings spanning from the Roman age to the Venetian period.

Prepotto

Prepotto is a small village in Friuli Venezia Giulia located at the foot of the hills along the border with Slovenia. It is noted for its beautiful landscape and the production of wine.

Sanctuary of Beata Vergine di Castelmonte

The Sanctuary of Beata Vergine di Castelmonte is located on top of a hill near Prepotto. The site might have been occupied by a Roman fortress and it was the site of a monastery in the Middle Ages, when it was already an important religious center. The current sanctuary was erected in the 15th century and it features various decorations. Now it is a popular pilgrimage site.

San Daniele del Friuli

San Daniele del Friuli is a town located at the foot of the hills northwest of Udine. It houses a few historic attractions, but it is best known for the production of the San Daniele prosciutto.

Biblioteca Guarneriana

The Biblioteca Guarneriana is one of the oldest public libraries in the world, founded in 1466. It houses a large collection of ancient manuscript, including one of the earliest copies of Dante’s Inferno, dating from the 14th century.

Church of Sant’Antonio Abate

The Church of Sant’Antonio Abate is a Gothic church erected during the 14th century. It houses a splendid series of frescoes painted between 1497 and 1522 by Pellegrino da San Daniele.

Gemona del Friuli

Gemona del Friuli is a town north of Udine, located at the foot of the Alps. Due to its strategic position along the road connecting Northern Italy to Central Europe, it was inhabited since ancient times. Throughout the Middle Ages, it was an important regional center, but later declined. The town was devastated by an earthquake in 1976, but it was later rebuilt and still preserves most of its medieval attractions.

Gemona del Friuli Cathedral

The Cathedral of Gemona del Friuli (Duomo di Gemona del Friuli) was built between 1290 and 1337 and it is a good example of the Gothic-Romanesque style of that time. The richly decorated facade however, was heavily restored and reworked in the 19th century. It was badly damaged by the 1976 earthquake, but it has been rebuilt and it hosts some historic artworks.

Venzone

Venzone is a small town located in a valley along the Tagliamento river. Despite being heavily damaged by an earthquake in 1976, it has been rebuilt and it still preserves its medieval walls.

Church of Sant’Andrea Apostolo

The Church of Sant’Andrea Apostolo is the main religious site in Venzone. The church was built in the 14th century and was destroyed in the 1976 earthquake, but it was rebuilt with its original materials, preserving some of the ancient decorations and frescoes. The church is best known for its baptistery, which hosts the Mummies of Venzone, a series of incredible mummies found since the 17th century. These were mummified for natural causes, but the exact processes are still a mystery.

Tolmezzo

Tolmezzo is a town in Friuli Venezia Giulia and the most important city in the geographical region of Carnia. It is located in a valley among the Carnic Alps, and it was founded in the Middle Ages. As a small fortified town, it became the main center of the region, and now it is a renowned tourist destination.

Carnic Museum of Popular Arts

The Carnic Museum of Popular Arts (Museo Carnico delle Arti Popolari), hosted in a historic building in the city center of Tolmezzo, hosts a collection focused on local culture. The museum includes various artworks and objects related to the tradition of Carnia.

Sappada

Sappada is a mountain village located among the Carnic Alps and it is a famous tourist destination, renowned for its beautiful environment and traditional wooden houses. Located between the historical regions of Cadore and Carnia, it was part of Veneto until 2017, when it voted to join Friuli Venezia Giulia.

Source of the Piave

The source of the Piave river, one of the most important and iconic rivers in Northern Italy, are located at the foot of Monte Peralba, a mountain north of Sappada. The source is marked by a monument and a mountain refuge is located close to it.

Tarvisio

Tarvisio is a town at the northeastern corner of Friuli Venezia Giulia, bordering both Austria and Slovenia. The town emerged during the Middle Ages as a contact point between the northern and southern side of the Alps, and was ruled by Austria for centuries. Tarvisio became part of Italy after World War I, and it is now an important tourist destination and border crossing. While there aren’t much to see in the city itself, the surrounding mountains offer various attractions.

Monte Santo di Lussari

Monte Santo di Lussari is a village and religious complex located on a mountain southwest of Tarvisio. The sanctuary located here was built over a previous church in the 16th century, and it is now an important pilgrimage site. The hamlet also serves as a ski resort and it is reachable with a cable car.

Fusine Lakes

The Fusine Lakes (Laghi di Fusine) are two small lakes located among the mountains east of Tarvisio, almost at the border with Slovenia. The beautiful lakes are a popular tourist destination due to their gorgeous environment.

Cave del Predil

Cave del Predil is a tiny hamlet located in a valley south of Tarvisio, close to the spectacular Lake Predil (Lago del Predil). Since the Middle Ages, it has been an active mining community where lead and zinc were extracted for centuries, until 1991. Now some sections of the historic mines can be visited and the village also hosts museum on the local minerary tradition and military history.