Cividale del Friuli
Located just a few kilometers away from Slovenia and Austria, Cividale del Friuli is a very convenient location for exploring our region. What do you love more, art or nature? Or do you prefer a good glass of wine and good food? Whatever your passion is, our territory will surprise you.
Starting from the B&B you can easily walk to all the main architectural and historic beauties of Cividale, which are: The Lombard Temple, notable example of the high middle ages architecture; the Cathedral (Duomo) built in the 15th Century and the Town hall, both of which are right across the street; Palazzo dei Provveditori Veneti, constructed and designed by the famous venetian architect Andrea Palladio.
Natisone Valleys
Begin your journey from Cividale by heading to the Natisone valleys. Located in the eastern part of our region, but just a few kilometers away, they host beautiful natural landscapes and newly restored hiking trails through the 1st WORLD WAR trenches. Their symbol is Mount Matajur, from which you can see the Adriatic Sea. The Natisone valleys are also the homeland to two of our most representative sweets: gubana e strucchi.
Castelmonte
Just a few kilometers from Cividale you can find one of the most ancient sanctuaries of Christendom: Castelmonte’s Monastery. As it is for Cividale’s Devil’s bridge, there is an ancient myth telling the origin of this sanctuary: Virgin Mary and the Devil decided to race to the top of the hill to see who should be worshipped there. And guess who won the race?
Colli Orientali (Eastern Hills)
If you decide to go further south you will arrive in the wine producing area called Collio, which lies near the Slovenian border. You will be delighted by the beauty of this scenery made of low hills, small hamlets and vineyards. Here world-renowned white wines as Pinot, Friulano, Sauvignon and Collio Bianco are born.
Trieste, Aquileia e Palmanova
As we proceed with our trip in this border land, we leave behind Collio's sweet landscape and arrive in what is called Carso (Karst), a more arid and stony landscape surrounding the region’s capital, Trieste. In this beautiful example of Mitteleuropean city, you can feel and see the mix of different cultures that colonized it during the centuries. Going back upwards we find Aquileia, one of the historic capitals of our region together with Cividale and Udine, and Palmanova, which is called "the starred city" for its polygional plan in the shape of a 9-point star.
Udine
Piazza delle Erbe is equally beautiful, surrounded by arcades and ancient colourful buildings. The city center is characterized by the hill on top of which we find Udine's castle, from whose top we can admire the Alps on the north and the Adriatic sea on the south. Furthermore, it is in Udine that the renowed 17th century painter Giovannibattista Tiepolo reached its artistic maturity, as we can witness in the gallery dedicated to his work.
Elegant but friendly, in Udine, especially during the summer, it is ritual to meet with friends at sunset to share a moment together drinking "un tajut" a cup of wine, as it is called in the local language, Friulano.
San Daniele, Sauris and Carnia
Going further north to the Carnic Alps, we find the mountains where our famous cheeses are produced. Their flavour is inimitable because of the rich biodiversity still present in the local pastures and the tradional production techniques that have been preserved until now.