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Stemma di Udine

Friuli-Venezia Giulia · Udine

Udine

The historic capital of Friuli, built around a man-made castle hill.

Known for

  • TIEPOLO

    Udine treated as his second home; the frescoes in the Palazzo Patriarcale mark his transition into mature Rococo.

  • PATRIARCATO

    Capital of the Patria del Friuli from the twelfth century until Venice took the city in 1420, the political center of medieval Friuli.

  • FRICO

    The Friulian potato and Montasio cheese tortino, the cooked-cheese dish that anchors Udine restaurant menus from the bakeries to the historic trattorie.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct

  • J
  • F
  • M
  • A
  • M
  • J
  • J
  • A
  • S
  • O
  • N
  • D
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

The festa: Ermagora e Fortunato, 12 July

Why come

Udine sits in the center of the Friulian plain, raised on a single man-made hill that legend assigns to Attila's army. The city is documented from 983, when Emperor Otto II donated the castle to the Patriarchs of Aquileia. By the twelfth century the patriarchs had moved their residence here, and for four hundred years Udine served as capital of the Patria del Friuli before Venice took the city in 1420 and governed it until 1797.

The hill and the square below it still read as two distinct centers: the castle above, rebuilt after the 1511 earthquake, looking down on the civic and religious cluster of the Piazza della Libertà, the Duomo, and the patriarchs' palace. From May 1915 to October 1917 the city was the seat of the Italian military command and was nicknamed Capitale della Guerra. A town built twice over as a seat of power, first ecclesiastical, then military, with its hill as the constant.

The Sunday letter

We haven’t written Udine’s letter yet.

One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.

Udine — photo 1
Udine — photo 2

What to see

  • Piazza della Libertà

    Framed by the Loggia del Lionello of 1448, the Porticato di San Giovanni, and a clock tower with bronze Mori that strike the hour above the square.

  • Castello di Udine

    Rebuilt in the sixteenth century after the 1511 earthquake, former seat of the Patriarchs of Aquileia and then of the Venetian governors, now housing civic museums on the hill above the city.

  • Galleria del Tiepolo (Palazzo Patriarcale)

    The frescoes here were painted for the Patriarch Dionisio Dolfin; Giambattista Tiepolo's rooms are reached through the palace's staircase and galleries, the setting as much a part of the work as the ceilings themselves.

  • Duomo di Santa Maria Annunziata

    The principal religious building of the patriarchal seat, holding further Tiepolo frescoes and altarpieces inside a fourteenth-century structure.

  • Oratorio della Purità

    A small oratory beside the Duomo, its every surface, including the ceiling Assumption, decorated by Tiepolo father and son together.

  • Piazza Matteotti

    Known locally as Piazza San Giacomo, the old market square, with the Chiesa di San Giacomo at its head and a Renaissance well at its center.

The slow-trip planner

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We recommend

Where to eat

Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.

  • Agli AmiciRistorante

    Agli Amici has two Michelin stars, three Gambero Rosso forks (93/100) and a place in L'Espresso's Top 300, among other nods.

  • Vitello d'OroRistorante

    Vitello d'Oro carries one Gambero Rosso fork (78/100), plus a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • 1905 dell'Hotel Là di MoretRistorante

    1905 dell'Hotel Là di Moret holds two Gambero Rosso forks (82/100).

  • FredWine Bar

    Fred has two Gambero Rosso bottles to its name.

  • Hostaria alla TavernettaRistorante

    Hostaria alla Tavernetta holds a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • Osteria Aquila NeraTrattoria

    A Gambero Rosso listing, at Osteria Aquila Nera.

  • Trattoria Alla VedovaRistorante

    Trattoria Alla Vedova has a place on Italy's historic-locali register to its name.

Through the year

What happens here

Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.

Living here

  • Population 97,808
  • A local hubi
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Train station in the comune
  • Nearest airport Venice, 1 h 33 min drive
  • Regional capital Trieste, 1 h 4 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 113 m
  • Population: 97,808
  • Surface area: 57.17 km²

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

Close by

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