FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA

Territory: The region consists of a flat region, extending from a morainic amphitheater, to the Tagliamento river and to the Adriatic coastline, with its plain and lagoons; of a pre-Alpine part with the Carnic Pre-Alps and of an Alpine Part, which includes the Carnic and Julian Alps. The Carso area shows interesting geological formations called "Doline" and countless grottoes.

Cities: The regional capital is Trieste, ruled by a special statute; the other important cities are Udine, Gorizia, Pordenone.

Art: The ancient Romans left many remarkable traces, mainly at Aquileia, which is a rich and famous archaeological center. In Grado and Cividale, there are important paleochristian architectonic examples of Byzantine style. The Basilica of Aquileia, which is in the Romanesque Gothic style, houses splendid mosaics.

Museums: In Trieste there are: the RevoltellaCivicMuseum, which holds an important collection of sculptural and pictorial works, from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; the CivicMuseum of the Sea, which shows the history of navigation from its origins to the end of last century, with models, instruments and projects. The Civic Museum of Risorgimento is an interesting review of Trieste’s struggle for freedom; the Civic Museum of Art History holds a remarkable collection of archaeological relics, from the Paleolithic to the Roman Age, with a very rich epigraphic section. In Gorizia, the fortified castle includes the Museum of History and Art, which houses interesting collections of objects and customs of the civic history: the ProvincialMuseum offers a review of local artists between the eighteenth and the twentieth centuries; moreover, there is the Museum devoted to World War I. In Udine, the CivicMuseum and the Galleries of History and Art hold remarkable collections of archaeology, sculpture, painting, ceramics, coins and jewelry. In the Civic Museum of Pordenone precious wooden sculptures of the Friuli school can be admired.

To be visited: In the Carso area there is the Gian Grotto, near Trieste; on the sea there are Duino and the Sistiana bay; the Miramare Castle, built during the nineteenth century by Maximilian of Austria, looms over the Adriatic Sea.