On Cividale

An introduction to London seems unnecessary, but Cividale del Friuli is a little bit out of the way and unfamiliar, so I'll run down a quick intro of what it is and why I want to go there.

Friuli-Venezia Giulia is the northeasternmost region of Italy, bordered on the southwest by the Veneto (and Venice), on the northwest by Trentino-Alto Adige (a/k/a the Südtyrol, the German-speaking Alpine region of Italy), on the northeast by Austria, and on the east by Slovenia. The south of the region is a mild Adriatic coastal plain, the middle is generally hilly wine and farm country, and the north is the Alpine border with Austria.

Cividale sits in the foothills of the mountains that form the border with Slovenia, in the Colli Orientali wine zone. Founded by Julius Caesar ("Friuli" is a contraction of "Forum Iulii," i.e., the Forum of Julius) as a Roman outpost in the first century BC, Cividale del Friuli has been ruled by groups as disparate as Lombard invaders (who left the 8th century Tempietto), the Venetian Republic, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Nearby are Aquileia, an important archeological site; Trieste, free port of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and longtime home of James Joyce; and San Daniele, center for one of the world's most famous hams. Venice, even, is only a short train ride away.

For questions or clarifications, please feel free to hit the comments below.