Visiting itinerary
The ideal starting-point to visit the city is the Castle hill on which many are the legends. The most intriguing is the one according to which the soil comprising the hill was carried there by the soldiers of Attila the Hun, who transported it in their helmets to allow their ferocius commander to feast his eyes upon the sight of Aquileia burning in the distance.
The residence of chamberlains, patriarchs and Venetian governors over the centuries, the castle visitable today was built on the site of the one destroyed in 1511 earthquake and has just been restored as it was seriously damaged by another recent earthquake (1976). Remarkable is the Hall of Parliament of the sovereign State of Friuli where Giambattista Tiepolo, G. B. Grassi and Pomponio Amalteo worked. The Gallery of Art is now situated on the first floor.
The House of the Confraternity of Santa Maria di Castello is the only building that survived the 1511 earthquake. The construction dates back to the 15th century. The House of the Peasantry, on the northern edge of the hill, was rebuilt in 1931, following the plan of a 15th century edifice that was once situated on the corner of Via Rauscedo and Via Vittorio Veneto.
The church dedicated to St. Mary of the Castle is probably the oldest in Udine, judging from extant fragments dating back to the Lombard era. It lost its parochial status in 1263 when it was annexed to the parish of Sant'Odorico (now the Cathedral), a more capacious church.
It was renovated many times in the course of the centuries (the facade was entirely rebuilt after the catastrophic earthquake of 1511). Its three naves preserve the suggestive atmosphere of silence and contemplation so peculiar to the oldest churches.
The Venetian Gothic "portico" with steps and ramps leading down the hill was commissioned in 1487 by the Venetian Governor Tommaso Lippomano.
Turning his back to the castle and going beyond the Bollani Arch, projected by Andrea Palladio (1556), the visitor is met by the splendid vista of Piazza Libertà, the heart of Udine, frequently referred to as "the most beautiful Venetian square on mainland". The most important sights of the city are to be found here, the remains of a Venetian past that began in 1420 and lasted until the end of the 18th century.
The most outstanding element of the square is undoubtedly the famous "Loggia del Lionello" with its alternating courses of pink and white stone. It was begun in 1448 on a project by Nicolo Lionello, a local goldsmith, and was rebuilt after a project designed by architect Andrea Scala when it was seriously damaged by a terrible fire in 1876. Opposite the Loggia del Lionello is the Loggia di San Giovanni, a Renaissance construction undertaken by Bernardino da Morcote.
Other noteworthy monuments in the square are the Fountain built in 1542 and designed by an architect from Bergamo, Giovanni Carrara; the Columns bearing the Venetian Lion and the Statue of Justice (1614); the Statues of Hercules and Cacus (affectionately known as "Florean" and "Venturin") and the Statue of Peace (1819) which was donated to Udine by Emperor Franz I to commemorate the peace Treaty of Campoformido.
Through Via Mercatovecchio, the most characteristic street of the town, the visitor arrives at Piazza Matteotti - San Giacomo; this was the first real square the city of Udine had, a "real-life square" . In it on the first Sunday of every month takes place an antique-trade little market. In the centre stands a fountain designed in 1543 by Giovanni da Udine, a pupil of Raffaello.
The church, dedicated to St. James, closes the west side of the square and is one of the oldest in the city. It was erected in 1378, but its Lombardesque facade was projected by Bernardino da Morcote at the beginning of the 16th century, while the chapel on the right side was added towards the middle of the 17th century.
Walking past the front of the Town Hall, entirely made of Istrian stone, erected between 1910 and 1931, an example of Art Nouveau projected by Raimondo D'Aronco the famous architect from Udine, one reaches the Cathedral, an imposing edifice built on a Latin cross-shaped plan with three naves and chapels along the sides. The oldest part goes back to 1335.
At the beginning of the 18th century a radical project of transformation involving both the exterior and the interior was undertaken at the desire and wholly at the expence of the Manin family. The Baroque interior has monumental dimensions and contains many works of art by G. B. Tiepolo, P. Amalteo, L. Dorigny. On the ground floor of the bell tower there is a chapel which is completely adorned with frescoes by Vitale da Bologna (1349).
Close to the Cathedral, the small Purity Oratory (1757) has one of the greatest master pieces by G. B. Tiepolo: the fresco on the ceiling shows "Our Lady of the Assumption" . But it is in the Archbishop s Palace that Tiepolo achieved one of the highest peaks of his stylistics. We also suggest a visit to the Gallery of Modern Art, the Friulian Museum of Natural History and the Ossarium Temple which holds the mortal remains of 25,000 soldiers killed in World
Palmanova
After a comparatively short struggle, Venice became mistress of Friuli in 1420.
Being compelled to protect her own borders from the Turks, she sent a certain Antonio Barbaro to look for strategical positions where to erect mighty fortifications. Palmanova was found to be the most suitable. The fortress-town was planned by architect Vincenzo Scamozzi in 1593.
It is the model of an ideal town in its perfectly symmetric star-shape. There are 9 points and a large central "piazza" from which 6 radial streets diverge.
