Discover Venzone: defensive walls, cathedral and trails along the Tagliamento
Accommodation in Venzone
Venzone between defensive walls and cathedral
Venzone brings architecture, memory and landscape together within a small area. The defensive ring has a circumference of approximately 1,300 metres and encloses Venzone in an irregular hexagon with fourteen inner insulae. The system is complemented by sixteen towers. Four gates arranged according to the cardinal directions provide access to the citadel of Venzone. The ring, towers and gates form a coherent citadel complex, with its entrances located at the four cardinal points.
Reconstruction preserving the townscape
Despite extensive reconstruction, Venzone’s defensive system remains the only surviving example in the area of a defensive ring dating from the 13th century. The original urban layout was preserved during the reconstruction of the town. Houses and monuments were rebuilt by restoring their historic appearance and cataloguing the stones individually; more recent structures were not reconstructed.
The cathedral also offers a precise insight into the town’s architectural history. The sculptor Master Giovanni worked on the northern portal in 1308. The virtual reconstruction of the cathedral was created according to the building’s original structure; the architectural parts affected by the collapses were modelled as 3D graphics almost stone by stone.
Museums and remarkable historical evidence
The Palazzo Orgnani Martina houses the Tiere Motus Museum, which opened in 2009. Through photographs, videos and documents, it tells the story of the 1976 earthquake and the reconstruction of Friuli.
Another powerful testimony can be found in the crypt of the cemetery chapel of S. Michele in Venzone: it contains five mummified bodies dating from 1348 to 1881. The permanent exhibition “Forests, Man, Economy in Friuli Venezia Giulia” also includes a mycological exhibition with more than three hundred mushroom specimens.
Hiking along the river and through the forest
The “Sentiero Natura delle chiesette di Venzone” is an easy hike in the immediate vicinity of Venzone’s historic centre. The hike offers views of the surrounding mountains and the Tagliamento River. Along this route, the town centre and the views of the mountains and the Tagliamento connect the defensive walls with the landscape.
The “Anello di Pioverno” circular trail begins in Venzone. After crossing the bridge, it follows the riverbank and leads through cool, shady forests. The bridge marks the transition between the starting point in Venzone and the continuation of the route.
Venzone as a starting point for a cycling tour
The cycling stage of the Alpe-Adria-FVG-1 route between Venzone and Udine begins in Venzone and heads south towards Gemona del Friuli. Venzone, Udine and Gemona del Friuli are the geographical reference points of the stage.
Getting there and other travel destinations
Venzone railway station is one of the stations from which various places can be reached by onward bus services.
More destinations to compare: Prato Carnico, Ruda, Pozzuolo del Friuli, Rivignano, Tricesimo, Forni Avoltri, Pavia di Udine, Ampezzo.
To the higher-level travel overview: Udine.
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