Friuli

OENO-GASTRONOMY

The Friuli region is characterized by an extraordinarily wide selection of wines and foods. Regional cuisine is rich with typical dishes and production areas where the local food and agricultural products are born.
The cuisine products reflect the highly varied geographic and cultural characteristics of the Friulan territory, offering a bounty of cuisine from the sea, peasant culture, and mountain cuisine, thus reflecting all the various cultures in turn.
The influence of Venetian, Slavic, Austrian, Hungarian, Jewish and Greek cuisine is present in Friulan dishes, which nonetheless possess an unmistakable local flavour.
Excellent quality wine is produced throughout Friuli. Some areas are geographically outlined which, thanks to the special environmental characteristics of the territory, ensure production of wines with registered designation of origin which are considered the utmost in quality both in Italy and worldwide.

ENOLOGY

Souvignon, Chardonnay, Cabernet, Refosco, Tocai, Pinot, Verduzzo, Picolit and Merlot are the main vines of Friuli. They are used to produce wines which are at the top of the best Italian and international wine lists. They can be enjoyed in comfort at the tables of the regional restaurants and wine bars, but they take on a truly special taste if they are enjoyed in the places where they are produced.
Grave del Friuli, Collio, Colli Orientali, Terrano di Carso, Latisana, Aquileia, Annia and Isonzo makeup the eight areas of production of wines with registered designation of origin in Friuli, a place to look for red and white wines not only for their won quality, but also for the splendid environmental setting where they are born.
You should also try the Grappa, of humble peasant origins, but today produced with such high characteristics of quality that it is now one of the most widely known and exported products of the region.

TYPICAL PRODUCT

The Friulan area is actually a continuous expanse of areas dedicated to unmistakable and typical products; the uniqueness of local tastes and fragrances give the food products characteristics which have often led to national and international awards.
Districts which are important and recognized on a European community level include those where Montasio cheese is produced (protected by the Regional Montasio Cheese Consortium). This cheese is the king of the numerous regional cheeses.
One speciality of Friulan cuisine is frico, which is fried cheese with onions and potatoes.
The hams and salamis include the sweet San Daniele ham, produced in the area which gets its name from the town of San Daniele, which is the best-known product. There are also areas of Friuli areas with typical products which derive from the ancient Celtic culture, such as Sauris smoked ham.

CULTURE AND MUSEUMS

The Friuli region has been at the crossroads of peoples, cultures and arts; the past has left its mark on the Friulian landscape in the form of many well-kept sites or monuments.
Particular attention deserves the classic and late Roman period, and the barbaric invasions, especially that of the Longobards, who have left some significant remains in Aquileia, Grado, Cividale.
The Venetian Republic has also left a magnificent cultural, artistic and architectonic legacy: Villa Manin in Passariano and the marvellous Piazza della Libertà in Udine are amid its highest achievements.
The city of Palmanova is a special fortress-city built by Venetians to protect the easternmost border of their territorial expansion. Friuli gives the visitor a vast choice between museums, permanent exhibitions and art galleries.
The most noteworthy ones: the Museo Civico d'Arte (Civic museum of art) and the Museo delle Scienze (science museum) in Pordenone; the Museo del Castello (the castle's museum) and the Museo della città di Udine (the city of Udine museum) in Udine; the Musei di Arte e Storia (art & history museums) at the Cathedral, as well as the Museo Revoltella and others in Trieste; the Museo del Castello (castle's museum) in Gorizia; the Museo Archeologico (archaeology museum) and the Museo Paleocristiano (paleo-christian) in Aquileia; the Museo Archeologico (archaeology museum) and the Museo del Duomo (the cathedral's museum) in Cividale; the Museo delle Arti e Tradizioni Popolare (art & folklore museum) in Tolmezzo; the Museo della Vita Contadina (rural life museum) in S. Vito al Tagliamento.