FRIULI V.G.
Friuli has always been a land of passage: Romans, Lombards, Venetians and Habsburgs all left their mark. Aquileia, once the fourth largest city of the Roman Empire, is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site with one of the most remarkable mosaic floors in the world. Cividale del Friuli preserves its unique Germanic-Romance architecture. And Trieste — for centuries the only Adriatic port of the Habsburg Empire — remains to this day a city in between, a place where Central Europe meets the Mediterranean.
NATURE & CLIMATE
Friuli's nature is extraordinarily varied: the wild gorges of the Natisone Valley, the Karst with its underground caves (including the Grotta Gigante near Trieste), the lagoons with their rich birdlife and the imposing peaks of the Carnia. The Tagliamento delta is considered one of the last natural rivers in Europe.
CUISINE
Friulian cuisine is one of Italy's most distinctive. San Daniele del Friuli produces a cured ham that ranks among the finest in the world. The wines of the Collio and Friuli Colli Orientali — Ribolla Gialla, Friulano, Refosco — have worldwide renown. Add to this Montasio cheese, Frico (a crispy cheese cake), Cjarsons (sweet-and-savoury ravioli) and the border cuisine of the Karst plateau.
HIGHLIGHTS
Aquileia (UNESCO World Heritage), Miramare Castle near Trieste, the historic centre of Udine, Cividale del Friuli (Lombard UNESCO Heritage), the Collio vineyards between Cormons and Gorizia, the Marano Lagoon Nature Reserve and the mountain villages of Carnia.
