Italy Guide
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Cividale del Friuli
Lying only 17km east of Udine and making an excellent day trip CIVIDALE DEL FRIULI is a well-preserved medieval gem of a town. It's much prized by the local Friulani and is attracting increasing numbers of visitors drawn to its beautiful setting and arts treasures. It has ancient roots, founded in 50 BC by Julius Caesar at the picturesque point where the Natisone River Valley opens into the plain. In the sixth century AD it became the capital of the first Lombard duchy. In the eighth century the Patriarch of Aquileia moved here, inaugurating Cividale's most prosperous period. Cividale has been the main market town in the Natisone Valley for two hundred years, and today you'll hear Italian, Friulano and Slovene dialects spoken in the street.
Just strolling around the town, within the oval ring bisected by Via Carlo Alberto and Corso Mazzini, is a pleasure, the pace of life provincially serene. The Old Town lies between the train and coach stations and the Natisone, and the visitor need never cross the river, though a walk over the Ponte del Diavolo (Devil's Bridge) is de rigueur.