Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Cividale del Friuli (Italy). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Palazzo Pretorio, National Archaeological Museum, and Oratory of Santa Maria. Also, be sure to include Longobards in Italy in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Cividale del Friuli (Friuli-Venezia Giulia).
Table of Contents
Palazzo Pretorio
Palace in Cividale del Friuli, Italy. The Palazzo Pretorio or Palazzo dei Provveditori veneti is a palace in Cividale del Friuli, northern Italy, attributed to the architect Andrea Palladio and built between 1565 and 1586. Since 1990 it is the home of the National Archeological Museum of Cividale.
Renaissance art historian Giorgio Vasari testified of the existence of a project by Palladio for the Palazzo Pretorio at Cividale, for which he executed a model; he also wrote that the architect was present at the building’s foundation ceremony. The desire of the Civic Council to construct the Palazzo Pretorio dates to 1559, but the laying of the foundation stone had to wait until March 1565, when the financial means became available.
The palace was completed in 1586. Palladio's contribution in the building is not immediately recognizable, even if the peculiar basement, with its stone bosses, may derive from Palladio’s studies of the Roman antiquities in Dalmatia, specifically the amphitheatre in Pula. What seems probable is that the building’s execution was at least undertaken without Palladio’s control, and without particular respect for his original project.[1]
National Archaeological Museum
Also known as: Museo Archeologico Nazionale
Archaeological museum in Cividale del Friuli, Italy. The National Archaeological Museum of Cividale del Friuli is known for the high medieval archaeology, particularly with regard to the art Lombard. It is housed in the Palace Pretorio.[2]
Address: Piazza del Duomo 13, 33043 Cividale del Friuli
Oratory of Santa Maria
Monastery in Cividale del Friuli, Italy. The Oratorio di Santa Maria, or Oratory of Santa Maria, previously called the Tempietto longobardo, is located in Valle on the north-eastern frontier at Cividale del Friuli in the province of Udine. It was erected in the 8th century under the rule of a Germanic people called the Lombards who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. This is the most important and best preserved example of Lombard architecture, which resembles styles found in Ottonian, Roman, Lombardy and Carolingian art. Included within the temple and chapel are decorated frescoes and high relief sculptures of saints in stucco.[3]
Address: Via Monastero Maggiore 34, 33043 Cividale del Friuli
Longobards in Italy
Also known as: Longobardi in Italia: i luoghi del potere
Longobards in Italy: Places of Power is seven groups of historic buildings that reflect the achievements of the Germanic tribe of the Lombards, who settled in Italy during the sixth century and established a Lombard Kingdom which ended in 774 A.D.
The groups comprise monasteries, church buildings, and fortresses and became UNESCO World Heritage Sites in June 2011 as they testify "to the Lombards' major role in the spiritual and cultural development of Medieval European Christianity".[4]
Ponte del Diavolo
The Devil's Bridge is the symbol of the city of Cividale del Friuli. Built in stone starting in 1442 and divided into two arches, it rests on a natural boulder placed in the bed of the Natisone River, along which a scenic gorge can be admired. The bridge is 22.50 m high, rests on three piers developing 48 m over two arches of different widths. The asymmetry is due to the position of the boulder on which the central pier rests.
Address: Corso Paolino d'Aquileia 18, 33043 Cividale del Friuli
Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta
The cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is the main church of Cividale del Friuli, in the province and archdiocese of Udine; it is part of the Eastern Friuli forania.
St. Martin Church
Also known as: Chiesa di San Martino
The church of San Martino is a Cividale del Friuli Catholic place of worship, located just across the Natisone River, near the Devil's Bridge, in the village of Ponte; the church is set back from the road, at the bottom of a raised parvis.
Address: Corso Paolino d'Aquileia, 13, 33043 Cividale del Friuli
Chiesa dei Santi Pietro e Biagio
The Church of Saints Peter and Blaise is a religious building in Cividale del Friuli, located in the small square of St. Blaise in the village of Brossana, a few steps from the Lombard Temple.
Chiesa dei Santi Silvestro e Valentino
Church
Address: Via Carlo Alberto, 33043 Cividale del Friuli
Chiesa di San Pantaleone o Santa Maria de La Salette
The church of San Pantaleone is a place of worship in Cividale del Friuli, located in the hamlet of Rualis.
The church was built along the road of late antique-medieval origin that connected Forum Iulii to Cormones, now Cormons, and continued beyond the Pons Sonti, the bridge over the Soča River near present-day Gradisca, and toward the Via Aquileia - Iulia Emona.
During the 19th century the locality was the subject of archaeological research: the remains of a building interpreted as part of a small temple dedicated to Mars were identified. Leaning against the Roman structures a number of burials from the late antique period came to light. Nearby, some wall fragments and numerous finds from the Roman period were discovered, testifying to the presence of a rustic villa.
According to tradition it was in this church that St. Paulinus blessed Charlemagne's army headed against the Avars.
Santuario Beata Vergine di Castelmonte
The shrine of the Blessed Virgin of Castelmonte is located in Castelmonte, a hamlet of Prepotto. It rises 618 m (618 ft) behind the Julian Alps, 7 km (4 miles) from Cividale del Friuli.
Address: Via Castelmonte 2, 33043 Cividale del Friuli