Udine

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Comune di Udine
Municipal coat of arms
Country	Italy
Region	Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Province	Udine (UD)
Mayor	Sergio Cecotti

Elevation	113 m
Area	56 km²
Population
- Total (as of December 31, 2006)	96,750
- Density	1,740/km²
Time zone	CET, UTC+1
Coordinates	46°04′N, 13°14′E
Gentilic	Udinesi
Dialing code	0432
Postal code	33100
Frazioni	see list
Patron	Sts. Ermacoras and Fortunatus
- Day	July 12
Website: www.comune.udine.it

Udine (Friulian Udin, Slovene Videm) is a city in northeastern Italy, capital of the historical region of Friuli, in the middle of Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic sea and the Alps (Alpi Carniche), less than 40 km from the Slovenian border. Its population was 96,750 in 2006, 169,000 with the urban area.

View of the city, Alps in background.

1 History
2 Main sights
3 Culture
4 Gallery
5 Economy
6 Sports
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] History

Udine was the historical starting point for a route over the Saifnitz or Pontebba Pass to Villach by way of Pontebba and Tarvisio. It lay on the Roman road the Via Julia Augusta, but there is no sign of Roman occupation. Founded in 983, after the decline of Aquileia (an important Roman city) and Forum Iulii, Udine became important for commerce, and was for 4 centuries capital of patriarchate of Aquileia (see Aquileian Rite). In the 1230s the seat of the patriarchate of Aquileia was transferred to Udine, giving its Romanesque cathedral new prominence. In 1420 Udine became part of Venetian territory. It remained a part of the Republic of Venice until 1797, when Napoleon yielded Venice and her territories to Austria in the Treaty of Campo Formio, signed in 1796 in Campoformido, a village about 4 miles west of Udine. In 1866 it was annexed by the kingdom of Italy as part of the unification of Italy.

[edit] Main sights

The old residence of the patriarchs of Aquileia was erected by Giovanni Fontana in 1517 in place of the older one destroyed by an earthquake in 1511. Under the Austrians it was used as a prison. In the cathedral archives was formerly preserved a recast of the Visigothic code of laws in a manuscript known as the Codex Utinensis, which was fortunately printed before it was lost. (See Breviary of Alaric).

Urban area of Udine.

In the 1550s Andrea Palladio erected some buildings in Udine.

Piazza della Libertà, 16th century Loggia di San Giovanni and the Torre dell’Orologio.

View of Piazza San Giacomo (St. James square).

Image:Via mercatovecchio Udine.jpg

Via Mercatovecchio.

The church of Santa Maria della Purità has 18th-century frescoes by Giambattista Tiepolo and his son Domenico.

The church dedicated to St. Mary of the Castle is probably the oldest in Udine, judging from extant fragments dating back to the Lombard era. It lost its parish status in 1263, when it was annexed to the larger parish of Saint'Odorico (now the Cathedral). It has been renovated many times over the centuries: the façade, for example, was entirely rebuilt after the catastrophic earthquake of 1511. Its three naves preserve the suggestive atmosphere of silence and contemplation, which is often found in old churches. The Venetian Governor, Tommaso Lippomano, commissioned the Venetian Gothic portico with steps and ramps leading down the hill in 1487.

In the principal square (Piazza della Libertà) stands the town hall (Loggia di Lionello) built in 1448-1457 in the Venetian-Gothic style opposite a clock tower (Torre dell’Orologio) resembling that of the Piazza San Marco at Venice.

It was begun in 1448 on a project by Nicolò Lionello, a local goldsmith, and was rebuilt following a fire in 1876. The new design was projected by the architect Andrea Scala. Opposite the Loggia del Lionello is the Loggia di San Giovanni, a Renaissance structure designed by Bernardino da Morcote. Other noteworthy monuments in the square are the Fountain by Giovanni Carrara, an architect from Bergamo (1542); the Columns bearing the Venetian Lion and the Statue of Justice (1614), the statues of Hercules and Cacus and the Statue of Peace (1819) which was donated to Udine by Emperor Franz I to commemorate the peace Treaty of Campoformido.

Image:Duomo udine.jpg

Cathedral.

The Cathedral of Udine is an imposing edifice built from 1236, on a Latin cross-shaped plan with three naves and chapels along the sides. The church was consecrated in 1335 as Santa Maria Maggiore. At the beginning of th 18th century a radical transformation project involving both the exterior and the interior was undertaken at the request and expense of the Manin family. The Baroque interior has monumental dimensions and contains many works of art by G.B. Tiepolo, P. Amalteo, L. Dorigny. On the ground floor of the bell tower (built from 1441 over the ancient baptistry) is a chapel which is completely adorned with frescoes by Vitale da Bologna (1349).

The center of Udine is dominated by the Castle, built by the Venetians from 1517 over a ruined Lombard fortification. The castle houses one of the most ancient Parliament Halls of Europe.

[edit] Culture

Udine has a university, the 'Università degli studi di Udine'. The archbishop's palace and the Museo Civico have quite important paintings. The city has a theater, the Teatro Giovanni da Udine.

Important festivals include the wine-and-food September festival, Friuli D.O.C., and the biggest European festival of popular East Asian cinema, the Far East Film Festival, in April.

The asteroid (33100) Udine was named in honor of the city.

Along with Italian, Friulian is spoken in Udine.

[edit] Gallery

Piazza Libertà	Western view from the castle	Western view from the castle (wide)	Old map
Piazza Libertà	Piazza Libertà by night	Udine Towerdetail	Piazza San Giacomo by night
Loggia del Lionello by night	Loggia del Lionello & Piazza by day	Via Mercatovecchio