Udine: the door of the East
Udine is located exactly in the eastern side of our country, basically a step away from North East Europe.
No coincidence that the name of the city becomes Videm in Slovenian and Weiden in old German…
Current regional capital and historical capital of Friuli, Udine became the most important city of this territory around the fourteenth century, but it suffered many misfortunes in the following century, such as the civil war, the earthquake and the plague.
Udine is unfortunately a city frequently hit by violent earthquakes: the last occurred on 6th May 1976, although the most devastated area was that around Gemona del Friuli.
Monuments and places of interest
Udine boasts beautiful churches, such as Santa Maria in Castello which is the oldest in the city, as important as the Cathedral of Udine, better known as the Cathedral of Santa Maria Annunziata, surrounded by the famous Baptistery.
The Basilica Shrine of Beata Vergine delle Grazie and the church of the Oratorio della Purità should also be mentioned for their beauty and importance.
In town there is also a desecrated church now re-used as an auditorium.
We are talking of the Church of Sant’Antonio Abate, situated not far from Piazza Patriarcato.
Enchanting is the Loggia del Lionello (and at its side the Loggia and the Temple of San Giovanni with the Clock Tower, ed), neo-Gothic building located in the central Piazza della Libertà.
Inside there are positioned several statues, such as that of Hercules.
Udine also has one of the oldest castles in Europe.
Which currently houses the room of the Homeland Parliament of Friuli. Despite lot of damage suffered over the centuries, the Udine castle dominates the city with all its elegance and majesty.
And then the Palaces: the most famous of the city is certainly Palazzo Patriarcale, but also head to the Palazzo Antonini-Belgrado (better known as “Palazzo della Provincia”) and to the Palazzo Antonini-Cernazai, famous for being the first university center of the city: not by chance that today it’s still home to the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy.
Culture
Just the University is one of the jewels of the Friuli city.
Required since the 50’s, it was completed only in 1978, thanks also to the interventions provided for reconstruction after the disastrous earthquake of two years before.
Also essential are visits to theaters, with beautiful architectural forms, such as the Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine and the Teatro San Giorgio; finally, take a trip also to the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art: you will not regret.