What is Udine known for?

Udine treated as his second home; the Galleria del Tiepolo in the Palazzo Patriarcale holds the frescoes that mark his transition into mature Rococo. Capital of the Patria del Friuli from the twelfth century until Venice took the city in 1420, the political center of medieval Friuli. The Friulian potato and Montasio cheese tortino, the cooked-cheese dish that anchors Udine restaurant menus from the bakeries to the historic trattorie.

Udine is a comune in the province of Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy, about 2 kilometers from Udine.

Friuli-Venezia Giulia · Udine

Udine

The historic capital of Friuli, built around a man-made castle hill, the second home of the painter Giambattista Tiepolo.

2 km / 1 mi

Nearest hub (Udine)

97,808

Population

Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct

Best time to visit

Why come

Udine sitsin the center of the Friulian plain, on a single man-made hill legend assigns to Attila's army. The city is documented from 983, when Emperor Otto II donated the castle to the Patriarchs of Aquileia; by the twelfth century the patriarchs had moved their residence here, and for four hundred years Udine was the capital of the Patria del Friuli. Venice took it in 1420 and ran it until 1797. Piazza della Libertà, often called the most beautiful Venetian square on the mainland, holds the Loggia del Lionello, the Porticato di San Giovanni, and the clock tower with two bronze Mori. The Castello, rebuilt in 1517 after the earthquake, sits above on the hill. The Galleria del Tiepolo in the Palazzo Patriarcale and the Oratorio della Purità hold the frescoes of Giambattista Tiepolo, who treated Udine as his second home. From May 1915 to October 1917 the city was the seat of the Italian High Command and was nicknamed Capitale della Guerra.

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Gallery

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Known for

Piazza della Libertà
Often described as the most beautiful Venetian square on the mainland, framed by the Loggia del Lionello (1448), Porticato di San Giovanni, and clock tower with bronze Mori.
Castello di Udine
Sixteenth-century castle rebuilt after the 1511 earthquake on a man-made hill, former seat of the Patriarchs of Aquileia and Venetian governors, now civic museums.
Galleria del Tiepolo (Palazzo Patriarcale)
Eighteenth-century frescoes by Giambattista Tiepolo for the Patriarch Dionisio Dolfin, considered the painter's transition into mature Rococo.
Duomo di Santa Maria Annunziata
Fourteenth-century cathedral with Tiepolo frescoes and altarpieces, the principal religious building of the patriarchal seat.
Oratorio della Purità
Small eighteenth-century oratory next to the Duomo decorated entirely by Tiepolo father and son, including the ceiling Assumption.
Piazza Matteotti
The old market square, called Piazza San Giacomo locally, with the Chiesa di San Giacomo at its head and a Renaissance well at its center.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September into October are the Friulian shoulder months, dry, mild, evenings cool enough to sit out on Piazza della Libertà. July and August push past thirty with high humidity off the plain; the porticos shade the worst of it, but the air stagnates. November through March is fog and cold: short days, gray light, the castle on its hill rising above the haze on Piazza Matteotti. Late September brings Friuli Doc, the four-day regional food and wine festival on the central squares. Christmas markets open in early December. The Tiepolo frescoes hold the same light year-round.