Cividale del Friuli

Member of I Borghi più belli d'Italia

AconcaguaCividale 0904 Duomo and Ponte del Diavolo CC BY-SA 3.0
Sebi1 (Wikipedia user)Cividale ChiesasconsacrataSanFrancescoPublic domain
Sebi1 (Wikipedia user)Cividale PalazzoComunalePublic domain
MattanaCividale del Friuli 005 CC BY-SA 3.0
EwgohlCividale in panoramic CC BY-SA 4.0
Johann Jaritz (Wikipedia user)Cividale-ponte-del-diavolo CC BY-SA 3.0
WelleschikCividale3 CC BY-SA 3.0
Sebi1 (Wikipedia user)CividaledelFriuliDuomoPublic domain
Sebi1 (Wikipedia user)CividaledelFriuliStatua diGiulioCesarePublic domain
Eagle007italyMonumento Marcantonio di Manzano CC BY-SA 4.0
MolivaStazione di Cividale esterno lato nordovest 20120422 CC BY-SA 3.0

Friuli takes its name from this town: Julius Caesar's Forum Iulii, which in 568 became the seat of the first Lombard duchy in Italy. The medieval centre stands above the ravine of the Natisone, crossed by the Ponte del Diavolo, and its Lombard quarter, with the stuccoed Tempietto Longobardo, has been on the UNESCO list since 2011.

Highlights

The Tempietto Longobardo, with its Byzantine-influenced stucco figures
The Ponte del Diavolo over the Natisone, symbol of the town
The Celtic Hypogeum, rock-cut chambers of uncertain purpose (IT)
The cathedral's silver altarpiece of Patriarch Pellegrino II and the Christian Museum
The Messa dello Spadone, a sword-bearing Mass held on 6 January

Text adapted from Wikipedia (Cividale del Friuli (IT), Cividale del Friuli (EN)), Wikivoyage (Cividale del Friuli (IT), Cividale del Friuli (EN)). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Population: 10,815

Things to see

Events through the year

Messa dello Spadone Historical · 6 JanuaryMass and costumed parade recalling Patriarch Marquard's entry in 1366
Gioco del Truc Sport and games · Easter Sunday and Easter MondayColoured boiled eggs rolled into a sand basin in the squares
Mittelfest Music and arts · Every summerCentral European theatre, music, dance and puppetry festival, since 1991
Feast of Saints Donatus and Romulus Religious · 21 August
Palio di San Donato Historical · Second half of AugustMedieval festival with costumes, parades, markets and contests between districts

Dates follow the traditional patterns in our sources: check locally before you travel.

Adapted from Wikipedia (Cividale del Friuli), Wikivoyage (Cividale del Friuli). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Local food & wine

Petar43Gubana 05 CC BY-SA 4.0
Gubana (IT)SweetSpiral yeast cake filled with walnuts, raisins, pine nuts and lemon zest
IoStrucchi CC BY 3.0
StrucchiSweetFried or boiled sweet dough filled with raisins, pine nuts, walnuts and hazelnuts
IoFricotenero CC BY-SA 3.0
FricoDishOnions, potatoes and melted cheese, partly fried in the cheese's own fat
Tocai friulanoWine
VerduzzoWine
Fabio BrunaRefosco dal Penduncolo Rosso CC BY 2.0
Refosco dal peduncolo rossoWine