Italy Guide
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Piazza della Libertà
The place to start any exploration of Udine is in Piazza della Libertà, a square whose architectural ensemble is matched by few cities in Italy. The fifteenth-century Palazzo del Comune is a clear homage to the Palazzo Ducale in Venice, and the clock-tower facing the palazzo, built in 1527, similarly has a Venetian model – the lion on the facade and the bronze Moors who strike the hours on top of the tower are explicit references to the Torre dell'Orologio in Piazza San Marco. The statue at the north end of the square is a bad allegory called Peace, donated to the town by Emperor Franz I to commemorate the Habsburg acquisition of Udine.