Udine Off The Beaten Path

Capella Manin, the Chapel of the Manin family, comissioned by Ludovico Manin, was built in51733 in a splendid Baroque style.
The hexagonal ground floor altair inside the chapel has an stunning sculpture of "Madonna con Bambino (the Madonna with the Child), work of Venetian sculptor Giuseppe Torretti. The same Torretti have painted the frescoes on the wall of the chapel; "La nascita della Vergine", "La Visitazione" and "La presentazione di Gesu al Tempio".

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Il Palazzetto Veneziano, the Venetian Haus, was reconstructed in 1910, after it was pulled down to make the space for Palazzo d'Aronco.
Originally, the palace was built in the 14th and 15th century and during the reconstruction works the original parts of the marble were preserved. However, the reconstruction did not respected the original proportions of the building, therefore it looks "stretched" now.

This beautiful arch stands in between The Castle and the Castle Church. It is the gateway into the huge open space behind the castle where the Casa di Contadinanza is situated.
Unfortunatelly, I couldn't have any usefull information regarding this arch.

Todays construction of the Sanctuary of Madonna delle Grazie dates from 1730 and later on in the first half of the 19th century. In addition to the sanctuary there is the Convento dei Padri Serviti, a Convent dates back from the 15th century.
The Sanctuary was built on the spot of an earlier church from the 15th century, dedicated to San Gervaiso.
The interior of one nave sanctuary is very spacious and it preserves valuable paintings of Luca Monteverde and the famous painting of "Beata Vergine".

This palace dates back to the 17th century and today hosts the provincial administration, as well as some faculties of the Udine University. One can see inside frescoes by Giulio Quaglio (end of 17th century), but I didn't go in, because I was going to the castle and hadn't got much time.

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North-west of Udine is the small town of San Daniele del Friuli. The biggest draw here is its world famous cured ham - Prosciutto di San Daniele. Its big rival is prosciutto from Parma (parma ham).

San Daniele is filled with numerous prosciutto factories producing thousands and thousands of legs of ham. The best time to go is on the last weekend of August, when the town holds the annual prosciutto festival. The town turns into a giant canteen with long tables and seats in every piazza. Get your prosciutto, grissini and beer from the dozens of counters and then sit and eat all day or all evening. You can also go and visit the factories for brief tours. Free bus services take you around the different factories in the town.

This idyllic lake is located some way out of Udine, but worth the drive to spend a pleasant afternoon.

It is shared between three municipalities (hence the name "tre comuni"), but is more commonly known as Lago di Cavazzo.

Gemona is a hillside village north of Udine. It was completely destroyed by an earthquake which hit the region in 1976. Hence practically the whole village was rebuilt. So it has a very "new" feeling as you walk along the hilly streets. Noteworthy sites here include the Duomo and just enjoying the spectacular view of the mountains from up close.