FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA – RURAL VILLAGES, TYPICAL PRODUCTS, OLD CRAFTS: A NEVERENDING HOLIDAY
Friuli Venezia Giulia is the right destination for curious and particularly dynamic people and for those who want to experience several vacations in one.
You can discover this area from north to south, from east to west, you will be surprised by the variety of environments and climates that spreads from the mountains to the sea: a multitude of possibilities that will quench your thirst for discovery.
Friuli Venezia Giulia is a small world that stimulates the imagination: food and wine tours, traditional handicrafts, rural and medieval villages, secret castles, waterways and old mills, historical reenactments and timeless rituals.
DAY 1: PORDENON
In the afternoon, arrival in Pordenon, the old Portus Naonis, also known as “the painted city”.
We will meet the guide and stroll through the old town with a first stop at the Gothic and Renaissance “Loggia del Comune”, the City Hall, a landmark of civil liberties for almost seven centuries.
Not far away you can find Palazzo Mantica, a lively cultural centre during the Renaissance and where the greatest work of Gianfrancesco Fortunio was born: the first “Italian Grammar”.
Close to Palazzo Mantica stands Palazzo Ricchieri, a building with a strange layout. With its unique and fascinating mixture of Romanesque and Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque it has been the cradle of university professors, army officers and geographers for six centuries.
A little further away, under the imposing mass of one of the most beautiful Romanesque-Gothic bell towers in Italy, you can admire the Cathedral, of whose humble unfinished facade hides great interior works of arts: in this cathedral, Giovanni Antonio da Pordenone spent all his troubled existence as a great Renaissance painter.
Continue to Lignano. Dinner and overnight.
DAY 2: IL SENTIERO DELLE VIGNE ALTE (THE HIGH VINEYARDS ROUTE) – A FOOD AND WINE TREKKING
After breakfast departure for the Collio Goriziano area, a strip of hilly land on the border with Slovenia that extends between the Isonzo and the Judrio rivers.
Beautiful panoramas that provide a feeling of peace and tranquillity, rolling green hills with little typical farms, castles, farmhouses and wineries. You will finally also have the opportunity to try one of the excellent wines that are produced in this area.
We head towards Russiz di Sotto to discover a path that plunges into a forest of chestnut, birch and cherry trees and that connects the “Spessa Castle” with “La Subida farmhouse”.
The “Spessa Castle” dates back to the XIII Century and hosted famous people like Giacomo Casanova and Lorenzo Da Ponte. Today it is a luxury hotel, with a golf club and a precious wine cellar.
We will start the hike with a small climb and enjoy great panoramic views: among them, the most beautiful is the one of Pradis vineyards.
Once we have reached the little church in Subida, we will take a break and visit La Subida Country Resort, surrounded by vineyards and forests.
We will also have the opportunity to visit an old charming vinegar factory and learn about the vinegar production method.
Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.
DAY 3: A STROLL THROUGH CHARMING ANCIENT VILLAGES: CORDOVADO, BORGO NUOVO AND GRUARO
After breakfast departure for Cordovado, the border area of the province of Pordenone and the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region that, since 2004, has been declared one of the most beautiful villages in Italy.
We will stroll through the narrow streets to visit the ancient medieval castle, admire the facade of Palazzo Freschi Piccolomini (it is a private estate: you can visit the interiors on request by paying about 10,00 € per person) and visit the old Cathedral.
We will continue the excursion and reach the village of Borgo Nuovo, where we will have the opportunity to view the fascinating Town Hall building and some little churches dating back to the 17th / 18th centuries. We will finally leave and stop in Gruaro, where we will visit the old mill that was also a silent witness and accomplice in a love affair between Countess Clara and Doctor Lucilio.
Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.
DAY 4: THE MEASUREMENT OF TIME IN AIELLO AND THE CHURCH OF S. ANDREA IN GRIS
After breakfast, we will start an unusual and strange round
trip to discover and admire the Aiello ancient sundials, that marked the time of our ancestors and that still mark ours.
These clocks “communicate” silently and discreetly with modern people and remind them to live intensely every moment of their lives. You will admire many different sundials with their characteristics, peculiarities and mottos. Allow yourself to be enchanted by their light and shadow.
We will then continue the journey along the Stradalta, the ancient Via Postumia, to visit the votive church of S. Andrea in Gris, one of the most beautiful churches in the region. This church is entirely covered with frescoes that are still perfectly preserved and among them, you can admire the famous figure of a devil who catches and devours souls. The picture cycle is part of the Biblia Pauperum.
Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.
DAY 5: DEPARTURE
Breakfast and departure.
