For a region that’s been fought over by everyone from Attila the Hun to Napoleon, Friuli-Venezia Giulia is surprisingly low-key. Tucked into the north-east corner of Italy, the region likes to play its cards close to its chest, reserving the delights of its mountains, vineyards and historical sites for those travellers prepared to venture off the beaten path.
The regional capital Trieste used to be the premier port of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a magnet for businessmen and rebels alike. James Joyce lived here for nearly twenty years, and remains a visible presence in the city. There’s a James Joyce Trail, a James Joyce Summer School at the university and a wonderfully jaunty James Joyce statue by the Canal Grande. The city itself retains a distinctly Austrian air, complete with coffee houses and grand imperial architecture.
The Lion of St Mark can be seen across Friuli, a symbol of the lengthy domination of this region by the Venetian Republic.
Friuli-Venezia Giulia is famous for its wines. Wine has flourished here since the Roman period, and vineyards large and small dot the countryside, straddling the border between Italy and Slovenia.
The small town of Aquileia is emblematic of Friuli’s subtle charms. It’s a little hard to imagine, but this quiet place used to be one of the most important cities in the Roman Empire. The basilica, a grand Romanesque structure that still dominates the town, hints at Aquileia’s former grandeur. Inside is an extraordinary mosaic floor measuring 760 square metres. Dating to the fourth century, it is the largest such mosaic yet found from the Western Roman Empire. Aquileia is a World Heritage Site.
Successive barbarian invasions caused people to flee Aquileia and the surrounding towns towards the Adriatic coast and the harbour town of Grado during the fifth and sixth centuries. Today Grado is a small seaside resort notable for its art deco hotels and craggy shoreline, yet this place was once an early rival to Venice.
Further south lies Lignano Sabbiadoro, Lignano of the golden sand. This is Friuli’s main seaside resort and it’s understandably popular.
Miramare Castle, near Trieste, stands perched on a rocky promontory overlooking the Adriatic Sea. Built for the Archduke Maximilian in the nineteenth century, it is surrounded by an extensive botanical park and commands gorgeous views of the Gulf of Trieste. The story goes that the Archduke was washed ashore here during a storm, and so entranced was he by the setting that he decided to build a castle on the spot.
Further north in the mountains is the picturesque town of Venzone, famous for its lavender, mummies and the fact that it had to be almost completely rebuilt after the earthquake of 1976. The mummies, the result of microscopic bacteria that dehydrated bodies before decomposition could set in, were so intriguing, that even Napoleon took a break from conquering the region to see them.
