Cividale del Friuli, Medieval town in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
Cividale del Friuli is a medieval town in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, stretching along the Natisone River. Narrow stone lanes wind between multistory houses with terracotta roofs and lead to small squares with fountains.
Romans founded Forum Iulii in 50 BC as a military garrison and trade center at the northern edge of their empire. The Lombards chose the site in 568 as the first capital of their kingdom in Italy before power shifted to Pavia.
In the local trattorias, hosts often serve frico and gubana, regional dishes from the surrounding mountains and Slovenian border areas. On summer evenings, terraces along the riverbank fill with families dining together and enjoying the cool breeze from the Natisone.
Marked footpaths connect the old town to the bridge and the hypogeum within a ten-minute walk. The cathedral and museum lie close together, so visitors can explore them in a single morning.
The small oratory Santa Maria in Valle dates from the eighth century and displays fine stucco work with female saint figures on the walls. Few other buildings from the Lombard period in Europe contain such well-preserved decorations in their original context.
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