Friuli

 

          
 
Located in northeastern Italy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia borders the region of Veneto to the west, the republics of Austria and Slovenia to the north and east, and the Adriatic Sea to the south

t is Italy's northeastern corner barely mentioned in most guidebooks and rarely visited even by Italians, which makes it a great place for travelers seeking to leave the beaten path. Whether you like snow-capped mountains, warm sandy beaches, lagoons teeming with water birds, remote alpine hamlets, Roman ruins, palatial country villas, rocky coastal cliffs, bustling international seaports or picturesque fishing villages, your tastes will be thoroughly satisfied in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, one of Italy's most versatile regions.

The regional capital is Trieste, ruled by a special statute; the other important cities are Udine, Gorizia, and Pordenone.

TRIESTE is a city and port in northeastern Italy right on the border with Slovenia. Trieste is located at the head of the Gulf of Trieste on the Adriatic Sea. It is capital of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trieste province. The population is an ethnic mix of the neighboring regions; the dominant local Venetian dialect of Trieste is called Triestine. This dialect and Italian is spoken in the city center whilst Slovenian is partially spoken in several of the immediate suburbs. Italian and the Slovenian language are considered autochthonous to the area. There is also a Friulian and a Croatian speaking minority, with a fair number of German-speakers too. The sights in Trieste include numerous examples of Art Nouveau and neoclassical architecture from its Austrian past and a beautiful coastline outside the city.

UDINE is a reasonably large and very Italian town with beautiful old buildings, cobbled streets, gellato, piazzas and all the hallmarks of a long history. The centre of the city has a large old building up a steep drive on top of the hill providing a superb views of the city. The Duomo is a beautiful old building and there are so many others built over the past 1000 years.

GORIZIA is the capital of Gorizia province, on the Isonzo River and on the Slovenian border. It is an industrial, commercial, transport, and tourist center.  Gorizia was at the centre of fierce fighting during both world wars and was split in two by the 1947 Treaty of Paris, leaving part in Italy, part in Yugoslavia (now Slovenia). The town’s arcaded streets and pastel-painted houses have been carefully restored following substantial damage during World War 2.

PORDENONE was created in the High Middle Ages as a river port on the Noncello, with the name Portus Naonis. In the area, however, there were already villas and agricultural settlements in the Roman age. Old Pordenone consists of one long street, the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, lined with pretty arcaded houses of pink brick, some with the faded traces of decorative frescoes on their facades. Palazzo Comunale forms a striking conclusion to the street with its eccentrically shaped roofline of curves and side towers.

GETTING AROUND An extensive rail network and good bus services make this region easy to explore by public transport.  Motorways and main roads provide good links between the main cities.