Udine Things to Do

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Dominated by the church with the saint's name, this square now named Matteoti but also known as Piazza delle Erbe or Mercatonuovo, because it is the place for market of vegetables, the square shows also a elegant fountain and a column with a statue of the virgin, both from the 15Th century.

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Located in the square now named Piazza Matteotti but still called St Giacomo by locals, this is the oldest church in town. Built in 1378, it was enlarged in the 16th century, when it received the actual facade, and in the 17th when tha adjacent chapel was added.

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One of the mot beautiful constructions in Udine is the complex of paths and staircase that lead to the castle. Built in 1487 by order of Tommaso Lippomano, the Governor from Venice, it is a delicate example of venetian style.

The oldest entrance in town, dating from 1299, is called porta Manin or St Bartolomeo tower. The walls are gone,and even the tower has a somewhat modernized look, maybe by influence of the adjacent buildings

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Dominated by a palace built in th 16th century to Floriano Antonini, and several times transformed in the following centuries, this a large, nice, but strange square.
Some roman ruins seem to dispute the square with a big and modern block looking like a bunker, that by the time of our visit was painted with protesting messages. With different reasons, I do protest also.

The castle was built at the time of the Aquileia bishops in the center of the town, was replaced in the 16th century by a more majestic building, damaged in the 1976 earthquake and underwent long restoration works.

It was already, since 1906 a museum and after reconstruction, it hosts the Civic Museum and Galleries of Ancient and Modern art, with famous friulian and venetian artists such as Tiepolo or Caravaggio.

It was closed when we went there, and we could only see from outside a Pietà.

Maybe next time!

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The Palazzo del Monte di Pietà, dates from the 17th Century, and was designed by Bartolomeo Rava from Milan. It is located in Udine’s historic centre, with statues at each of its corners and large stone arches. It is a bank today, but inside, there's an art gallery of regional artists from the 16th to the 20th Century.
The best detail is a chapel that may be seen from outside.
With a fresco painted by Giulio Quaglio the Younger (1668 – 1751), and the altar sculpted by Giuseppe Torretto it is a very beautiful example of Baroque art.

Facing Loggia del Lionello, across the square, the Loggia of S. Giovanni was built in 1533, including a temple dedicated to the saint, but latter replaced by another one dedicated to the fallen. The most remarkable detail is the clock tower, in Venetian style.