What is Fagagna known for?

Donkey race run every first Sunday of September since 1891 between the four boroughs of Centro, Palûd, Pic, and Riul. Oasi dei Quadris reserve breeds the critically endangered Waldrapp; 37 captive-bred birds were released for migration in 2014. One of five Friulian castles donated by Emperor Otto II to the Patriarch of Aquileia in 983, oldest stones from the 11th century.

Fagagna is a comune in the province of Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy, about 14 kilometers from Udine.

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.

14 km / 9 mi

Nearest hub (Udine)

5,980

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Borghi più belli d'Italia

Why come

Fagagna, Friulian Feagne, sitson 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.

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Gallery

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Known for

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.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through October is the working window. May and June bring the morainic hills at their greenest; the Oasi dei Quadris is busiest with ibis breeding and visiting birders. July and August get hot, though the elevation keeps nights cooler than Udine on the plain. The first Sunday of September is the year's marker, when the Corsa degli Asini fills the piazza and the four boroughs race in colours. September and October are also when the Friuli Colli Orientali vineyards on the same morainic ridges turn. November through March is fog season in the surrounding plain; the hill itself stays clear of it more often than not.