Friuli-Venezia Giulia · Udine
Fagagna
A 177-meter Friulian hill town northwest of Udine, fortified by Otto II in 983 and racing donkeys in the piazza since 1891.
Known for
CORSA DEGLI ASINI
Donkey race run every first Sunday of September since 1891 between the four boroughs of Centro, Palûd, Pic, and Riul.
NORTHERN BALD IBIS
Oasi dei Quadris reserve breeds the critically endangered Waldrapp; 37 captive-bred birds were released for migration in 2014.
OTTO II'S CASTLE
One of five Friulian castles donated by Emperor Otto II to the Patriarch of Aquileia in 983, oldest stones from the 11th century.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
The festa: Giacomo il Maggiore, 25 July
Why come
Fagagna, Friulian Feagne, sits on the morainic hills thirteen kilometers northwest of Udine. The hill has been strategic since Roman times; the castle was one of five donated by Emperor Otto II to the Patriarch Rodoaldus in 983, and the oldest surviving stones date from the eleventh century. What remains is fragmentary: a stretch of wall, the Borgo gate, the clock-tower converted into a bell tower, the ruined keep, a fourteenth-century house, and the small church of San Michele Arcangelo.
Every first Sunday of September since 1891 the four boroughs of Centro, Palûd, Pic, and Riul race donkeys in the main square, each defending its colour, an event the locals call the Corsa degli Asini or San Siro del Friuli. A regional nature reserve nearby breeds the northern bald ibis, a critically endangered species; 37 captive-bred birds were released here in 2014. The town has been a member of Borghi più belli d'Italia since 2007.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Fagagna’s letter yet.
One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.
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What to see
Castello di Fagagna
Eleventh-century castle, one of five donated by Otto II in 983, now reduced to wall fragments, the Borgo gate, and the clock-tower.
Chiesa di San Michele Arcangelo
Small castle chapel inside the original walls, one of the surviving medieval structures from the patriarchal period.
Oasi dei Quadris
Regional wetland reserve breeding the critically endangered northern bald ibis (Waldrapp); 37 birds released here in 2014.
Castello di Villalta
Tower and walls from 1216 in the surrounding countryside, one of the largest surviving feudal complexes in Friuli.
Piazza dell'Asino
Main square where the four boroughs run the Palio dei Mussi every first Sunday of September, a tradition unbroken since 1891.
The slow-trip planner
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Living here
- Population 5,980
- Commuter belti
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest airport Venice, 1 h 43 min drive
- Regional capital Trieste, 1 h 16 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 177 m
- Population: 5,980
- Surface area: 37.19 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Close by
More towns near Fagagna
San Daniele del Friuli
Province: Udine
Italy's prosciutto capital — a 7,900-resident hill town in the Friuli morainic amphitheatre where the Tagliamento valley's south winds meet the alpine downdraughts, producing the San Daniele DOP raw-cured ham (31 producers, 14-month minimum cure) and where Pellegrino da San Daniele's 1497–1522 frescoes inside Sant'Antonio Abate are the regional Renaissance set-piece.
Udine
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The historic capital of Friuli, built around a man-made castle hill, the second home of the painter Giambattista Tiepolo.
Spilimbergo
Province: Pordenone
A 132-meter Friulian town on the Tagliamento, home since 1922 to the Scuola Mosaicisti, whose alumni made the Library of Congress mosaics.
Valvasone Arzene
Province: Pordenone
A medieval borgo at 57 meters on the Tagliamento's right bank, organized around a castle and a Duomo with a 1532 Italian-built organ.
Venzone
Province: Udine
A 230-meter walled medieval town in the Tagliamento valley, leveled by the 1976 earthquake and rebuilt stone by stone, winner of Borgo dei Borghi 2017.
🎨 Borghi più belli d'Italia
More Borghi più belli d'Italia towns in Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Cervignano del Friuli
Province: Udine
The capital of Bassa Friulana on the Ausa river, an inland river port for Aquileia in 181 BC and a railway junction since 1860.
Cividale del Friuli
Province: Udine
The Lombard capital on the Natisone, founded as Forum Iulii by Julius Caesar, where an eighth-century chapel still holds six stucco saints.
Cordovado
Province: Pordenone
A 15-meter Friulian village in the Pordenone plain, fortified by the bishops of Concordia as their summer seat and described in Ippolito Nievo's Confessions.
Frisanco
Province: Pordenone
A 572-resident commune in the Val Colvera whose frazione Poffabro, at 525 meters, became a model of Prealpine stone-and-wood vernacular architecture.
Gradisca d'Isonzo
Province: Gorizia
A 1479 Venetian bastion on the right bank of the Isonzo, with seven towers, twenty-meter walls, and a Habsburg court inside.