Udine Things to Do

The church of Santa Maria di Castello is situated right next to the castle. The present look of the church dates back from the 15th century, and it was the only building remained intact after the earthquake of 1511.
Actually, it was the first church built in Udine back in 13th century during the rule of Longobards. The church of Santa Maria was the parish church of Udine until 1263, when the new and bigger church of S. Odorico (today Il Duomo) was built.

The story of Casa di Contadinanza is very interesting, previously this 14th century haus was situated on the corner of Via Rauscendo and Via Vittorio Veneto. In 1931 it was completely trrensfered and reconstructed on the top of the Castle Hill, right behind the Castle.
"La Contadinanza" was third in power political organisation of Friuli Region, constituted of about 800 communities.
Inside of the haus there is an worth of note drawning-room from 16th century with gilding stucco and mirrors.

2 more images

The beautiful belfry of the church of Santa Maria di Castello, one of the emblems of the town of Udine, stands alone besides the church. It represants the highest peak of the town and can be seen from the milles away.
At the top of the belfry stands the iron statue of Santa Maria.

1 more image

The church of San Francesco (St. Francis) was built in the mid of the 13th century, and is considered as the one of the most beautiful churches of Udine because of its original and modest Franciscans style. At the same time, it represents the first testimony of the presence of the Franciscan Order in the region of Friuli.
There are valuable frescoes, dating from the 13th century, inside the church. The recent excavations around the church have discovered remnants from the pre-historic times.

4 more images

The beautiful Loggia del Lionello stands on Piazza Liberta, the real heart of the town. The Piazza Liberta, the Liberty Square, is considered one of the most beautiful Venetian square in so called "terraferma".
The most important building on this square is Loggia del Lionello, built of red and white stone in 1448 under the designs of the local master Nicolo Lionello. After it was damaged in big fire, the whole building was reconstructed by the architect Andrea Scala in 1876.

All I really knew was that I had a couple of hours to spare, I was near Udine, it had a reputedly good piazza and that there was a hill in the middle of the city. Now, from two sources I thought to be reliable I got two different heights; one claims 83ft (approx 25 metres) and the other claims 70 metres. Without my tripod and theodolite I couldn't verify either claim. Since I'm not even a surveyor, that would make it doubly difficult.
Thus it was that when I pulled up in the Renault, the hill was immediately before me. What luck I thought, and I was right.
So it was I wandered to the very top and came upon what I later determined was the building housing the Civic Museum.
Santa Maria del Castello Church with its 13th century frescoes also stood out and the charming Casa della Contadinanza with a restaurant inside; reached through the Lippomano portico. A panorama which includes Italian mountains and Slovenian plains can be enjoyed from the walls which lead to the castle entrance on clear days. Of course, the operative adjective mentioned was "clear", I hope you are there on clearer days than I enjoyed.
The morainic hill is quite strange in that it is completely isolated; explanations without scientific backup give rise to the legend which says that this hill was made by Attila and his soldiers, transporting the dirt there with their helmets in order to be able to enjoy the spectacle of the burning Aquileia.
The castle was destroyed twice by earthquake (1348 and 1511). It was then rebuilt by Venetian authorities, but without the fortress: in its place they built a late Renaissance-style palace which nowadays houses the Civic Museum, the Archaeological Museum and the Historical and Art Galleries: the last one houses works of Friuli painters from Middle Age to XIX century, besides some works by Tiepolo.

The delightful hilltop restaurant where you can sit in the not-quite-rarified air of the 24 metre high mound, regardless of who may or may not have put it there.
It's quite contrasting to be on the hill when all around you is flat.

Here is Saint Mark's Lion, which means that Udine belonged to... Venezia, of course! The lion's tail being down represents a peaceful town.
What we see today is just the reconstruction of the original 16th-century statue that the French destroyed in 1797. Grrr!