Friuli

At the North Eastern end of the Adriatic lies Friuli Venezia Giulia, a cluster of Italian provinces sandwiched between the Alps and the coast and bordered by Slovenia and Austria. The region is comprised of the provinces of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia and Trieste but, interestingly, despite its name, not Venice.

This tiny area has seen the rise and fall of empires, the Celts were here, the Romans saw it as an area of strategic importance and built colonies and great ports like Trieste. It was the first Italic area to become Christianised and in the 6th century the city of Cividale became one of the centres of the great Lombard civilisation. The conquests of Charlemagne brought it into the Frankish empire and after centuries of wars the provinces were divided between Venice and Austrian Habsburgs.

The history of Friuli Venezia Giulia is unique and all of these invaders have left their distinctive marks across the region. This tour will explore the art and architecture left by these cultures in a decidely different part of the Italian peninsula.

Udine arcade

	Programme Monday Sept 25 AM - Midday flight from London Gatwick to Venice. By private coach to Udine to check into our hotel. PM - Group dinner at the hotel. Tuesday Sept 26 AM - Cividale. Morning in Cividale del Friuli the capital of the first Lombard duchy in Italy at the end of the 6th century and now a UNESCO World Heritage site. We will visit the Cathedral, the Cathedral Museum, the Archeological Museum, and the Tempietto Longobardo. Group lunch in Cividale PM - Afternoon in Udine. A walk in Udine to the Piazza della Libertà, the Loggia del Lionello, and the Arco Bollani and a visit to the Cathedral and Baptistery. Then to the Oratorio della Purità and the Museo Diocesano e Gallerie del Tiepolo to see splendid works by Giambattista and Giandomenico Tiepolo. Wednesday Sept 27 AM - Aquileia. Also a UNESCO World Heritage site it was founded in 181 BC as a Roman military and trading centre with a harbour connecting it to its seaport at Grado. We will visit the Romanesque-Gothic basilica complex with its superb 4th-century mosaic floor and two crypts, the Cripta degli Affreschi and the Cripta degli Scavi. We will also visit the archeological area, which has good remains of the Roman river port, and the Museo Archeologico Nazionale. Group lunch PM - Grado is situated on an island in the Adriatic and reached via a long causeway. We will visit the historic centre including the 6th century basilicas of Sant’ Eufamia, with superb floor mosaics, and Santa Maria delle Grazie. Return to Udine via the walled town of Palmanova built on a nine pointed star plan with a hexagonal central piazza. Thursday Sept 28 AM - Trieste. Situated on a narrow strip of land between the Adriatic and Slovenia where we will visit the Cathedral of San Giusto with Byzantine mosaics and then walk through the 18th-century Habsburg Borgo Teresiano visiting the Serbian Orthodox San Spiridione and the Greek Orthodox church of San Nicoló. We will end the morning with a visit to the Museo Revoltella in the mansion of the 19th century businessman Baron Pasquale Revoltella containing a superb collection of turn of the 19th/20th century paintings and sculpture. Group lunch PM - Around the bay from Trieste, standing on the promontory of Grignano overlooking the Gulf of Trieste, is the Castello Miramare built in the second half of the 19th century for the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Habsburg. We will visit the beautifully preserved castle and some of its extensive gardens. Group dinner at the hotel. Friday Sept 29 AM - Morning excursion to the painted towns of Friuli. Pordenone’s Corso Vittorio Emanuele to see Palazzo Mantica-Cattaneo and Palazzo Ricchiere, and a visit to the Duomo and Museo Civico to see the work of Antonio de’ Sacchis, il Pordenone. Then to Spilimbergo with the exterior of the medieval Palazzo Dipinto and the Gothic Sta Maria Maggiore with a 14th c fresco cycle. Group lunch PM - Sesto al Reghena, the former fortified Benedictine Abbey of S. Maria in Sylvis with frescos from the 12th to the 15th centuries Saturday Sept 30 AM - Gorizia is at the foot of the Julian Alps and is bisected by the border with Slovenia with the new town of Nova Gorica on the other side of the border. We will visit the Cathedral, the church of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Castello , the adjacent Museum of the First World War and visit the border in Transalpina Square. Group lunch PM - Castello di Duino. The 14th century Castello Nuovo di Duino overlooking the bay of Trieste and featuring a staircase by Palladio. Liszt, Strauss and Mark Twain were among the guests here and in 1912 Rilke began to write his mystical poems the “Duino Elegies” while staying at the castle. Sunday Oct 1 AM - Towards the mountains. Many Alpine towns were severely damaged by earthquakes in 1976 and have been painstakingly rebuilt. We will explore the fortified town of Venzone and visit the crypt of the former chapel of San Michele which contains mummies discovered in1647. On to Gemona for the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and then to San Daniele, home of the famous prosciutto, for a visit to the frescoed medieval church of Chiesa San Antonio Abate. Group lunch PM - Castello di Villalta. Built on the ruins of a Roman fort the medieval castello is considered one of the most beautiful in Friuli. Group dinner at the hotel. Monday Oct 2 At leisure before a midday departure by private coach to Venice airport for an afternoon flight to Gatwick. The itinerary may be modified if required by local conditions.