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Stemma di Cervignano del Friuli

Friuli-Venezia Giulia · Udine

Cervignano del Friuli

The capital of Bassa Friulana on the Ausa river, an inland river port for Aquileia in 181 BC and a railway junction since 1860.

Best time
Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
By car
31 min from Udine
By train
Station in the comune
Population
13,573

Known for

  • RAILWAY JUNCTION

    On the Vienna-Trieste line since 1860 and still the principal stop between Venice and Trieste, used by all Bassa Friulana commuters.

  • PORT FOR AQUILEIA

    The Ausa river served as Aquileia's secondary inland port from 181 BC; the anchor on the commune's coat of arms records that origin.

  • FRIULI AQUILEIA DOC

    Center of the Friuli Aquileia DOC zone, with Refosco, Friulano, and Malvasia Istriana grown on the lower plain around the town.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct

  • J9°
  • F11°
  • M14°
  • A17°
  • M21°
  • J26°
  • J30°
  • A30°
  • S25°
  • O20°
  • N14°
  • D9°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

The festa: Michele, 29 September

Why come

Cervignano del Friuli sits at five meters on the lower Friuli plain, eight kilometers north of Aquileia and forty from Trieste. The town's origin is tied to Aquileia's founding in 181 BC: the Ausa, a short river that rises in karst springs and reaches the lagoon, served as a service port for the Roman colony, and the anchor in the comune's coat of arms still records that function. The eleventh-century abbey dedicated to San Michele Arcangelo placed the village under the monastery of Aquileia.

Venice took it in 1420, the Habsburgs retook it in 1521 with the Treaty of Worms, and it remained Austrian until World War I. The railway to Trieste opened in 1860 and the station became one of the principal stops on the Vienna-Trieste line, which is why Cervignano grew faster than the older centers around it. Today, with 13,573 residents, it is the largest commune of the Bassa and the administrative anchor between Palmanova, Aquileia, and Grado.

The Sunday letter

Cervignano del Friuli is on our list. Its letter is still to come.

We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Cervignano del Friuli comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.

Read on

Cervignano del Friuli in our articles

How to get there

From Venice (TSF), about 1h 24m by car.

Verona (VRN) is about 2h 37m away.

By car from the centre of Udine 31 minutes or Trieste 51 minutes.

There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.

Coming from Venice or Verona?

Coming by train into Trieste Centrale? Cervignano del Friuli is about 49 minutes away by road.

Every town within reach of Venice airport.

Cervignano del Friuli, photo 1
Cervignano del Friuli, photo 2

What to see

  • Duomo dei Santi Michele e Adalberto

    Modern cathedral consecrated in 1964 on the site of the medieval abbey church, dedicated to the archangel and to the missionary saint of Prague.

  • Chiesa di San Michele Arcangelo

    1780 parish church on the former Benedictine abbey footprint, with a single nave and a Baroque altar from the eighteenth century.

  • Fiume Ausa

    Short spring-fed river running through the centro, the historic inland port that linked Cervignano to Aquileia and the Adriatic in Roman times.

  • Centro storico

    Compact grid of nineteenth-century streets around Piazza Indipendenza, shaped by the Austrian railway era and rebuilt after WWI damage.

The slow-trip planner

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Living here

  • Population 13,573
  • Commuter belti
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Train station in the comune
  • Nearest airport Venice, 1 h 24 min drive
  • Regional capital Trieste, 51 min drive

Common questions

What is Cervignano del Friuli known for?
Cervignano del Friuli is the capital of Bassa Friulana on the Ausa river, an inland river port for Aquileia in 181 BC and a railway junction since 1860.
Where is Cervignano del Friuli?
Cervignano del Friuli is a comune in the province of Udine, in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, at 5 meters above sea level.
What is the nearest airport to Cervignano del Friuli?
Venice (TSF), about 1h 24m by car.
Can you get to Cervignano del Friuli without a car?
Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
How long is the drive from Udine to Cervignano del Friuli?
About 31 minutes by car.
When is the best time to visit Cervignano del Friuli?
Best in Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Cervignano del Friuli?
The town keeps its patron saint's day: Michele, 29 September.
Which other towns are like Cervignano del Friuli?
San Vito al Tagliamento, Udine and Sesto al Reghena.
How many people live in Cervignano del Friuli?
13,573 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 5 m
  • Population: 13,573
  • Surface area: 29.17 km²

These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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