The Region of Friuli - Venezia Giulia

Giosuè Carducci, the Nobel Prize winner for literature, loved the waterfalls of Chiaulis in the Carnia district. This is a land of shepherds and their huts, and where the architecture of the houses, like the dialect, has undergone strong German influences, with a landscape that is characterised by a harmony of meadows and forests of beech and fir. Here are produced some excellent cheeses, among them the renowned Montasio.
Its “Mitteleuropa” (Central European) atmosphere is a fascinating aspect of Friuli, tangible especially in the streets of Trieste, in the elegance of the fine buildings in the city centre and its historic cafes which recall, with a touch of melancholy, its glorious past, where the locals go to read the newspaper, play chess, talk business or simply chat in a romantic, gently decadent atmosphere with an almond-scented linerzertorte before them. The cafe tradition goes back to the end of the 19th century, when the cafes were frequented by writers such as the poet Umberto Saba, the novelist Italo Svevo or his friend James Joyce who conceived his masterpiece Ulysses in one of the cafes of Trieste. They are both elegant and charming, full of gilt decoration and mirrors, and even if Hapsburg officials and rebellious intellectuals no longer sit at the tables, the cafes still represent the rich cultural verve of the city.
In Trieste, the austerity of the grand historic buildings, those around Piazza dell’Unità d’Italia contrast with the lively Rione di San Giacomo (the District of St. James), full of shops, cafes and taverns, where the rite of drinking spritzers (white wine with soda water) is kept alive in picturesque surroundings, and where the office-workers in their coffee break eat a bollito misto (boiled mixed meats) at the counter instead of a cornetto, the usual crisp filled pastry. The mixed meat dish is a good symbol of the mixture of northern elements in the local culture. Indeed, Austrian, Hungarian, Slav and Jewish cuisines have come together in Triestine cooking, giving rise to tasty dishes with sweet-sour flavours such as the pistum (little dumplings of grated bread with aromatic herbs and raisins), the lasagne al papavero (poppy lasagne) the gnocchi di prugne (prune gnocchi) and the lepre boema (Bohemian hare). The exquisite variations on the most famous Austrian sweet confections, the Sachers, Krapfens and Strudels, stand alongside the classic Friulian cake, the gubana, with its typical snail shape.
Friuli of course has its own cultural festivals and entertainments such as the Mittelfest at Cividale or the festa del prosciutto (the ham festival) at San Daniele, but the outstanding event of the Region is the Barcolana, the spectacular regatta of yachts in the beautiful setting of the Gulf of Trieste: with more than two thousand boats and more than twenty thousand sailors it is the most crowded regatta in the world!
Friuli is full of castles, ancient aristocratic palaces and fortified hamlets. Looking out over the sea of Trieste is the Duino Castle with its stupendous Palladian staircase, its dining room richly decorated with stuccoes and the Salotto Blu (the Blue Drawing Room) with the precious paintings by Piranesi. Also overlooking the sea is the most famous and most often visited of Triestine castles, that of Miramare, fascinatingly white, as commissioned by Maximilian of Hapsburg. Notable among is apartments are the Sala della Musica and the Sala del Trono (the Music Room and the Throne Room). The conservatories contain birds and butterflies, and its marine reserve protects 120 hectares of fauna and flora. The symbol of Trieste is however the Castello di San Giusto (St. Just Castle) with its massive bastions; while 15 kilometres from the city of Udine is the 13th century Castello di Villalta (Villalta Castle), one of the best preserved in the Region.
The elegance of the architecture in Udine is immediately impressive, with its porticoes in Venetian style, its many Renaissance palaces and the fine façade of the Duomo (Cathedral). In fact it was just when he was painting the Cappella del S.S. Sacramento (the Chapel of the Most Holy Sacrament) that Giambattista Tiepolo, the 18th century European master, became famous: here the expressive force and realism of the depiction are astonishing. The city is dominated by a hill and the Castello, the 16th century Castle, and is full of flower shops, boutiques and elegant meeting places where citizens can enjoy a convivial atmosphere: they love their bars, restaurants and cafes where it is de rigueur to enjoy a tajut, the “small white between meals”, a glass of white wine drunk at the counter as an aperitif accompanied by cooked meats and cheeses.
Pordenone too is a lively city, rich in cultural events. The visitor wanting to stroll among its medieval palaces and under its ancient porticoes must head for Piazza Cavour in the direction of the Nocello River.
At Gorizia, the mediaeval buildings of the Borgo Castello (the Castle District), the ancient heart of the city, contrast with the Baroque buildings around Piazza della Vittoria and the eclectic 19th-century mansions.
And to lovers of mosaics, Friuli offers a splendid opportunity: the chance to visit the masterpieces that still, after one thousand five hundred years, light up the Basilica di Aquileia (the Basilica in the city of Aquileia).

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