Friuli-Venezia Giulia - The border lands of northeast Italy
6
days
from
£2,180
29th September 2025
- A wide variety of art and architecture: Roman, Byzantine, Gothic, Renaissance.
- Tiepolo is a recurrent theme and the tour is based in Udine where he worked early in his career.
Cumbersome by name, complex by history, the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia is tucked within the north-eastern borders of Italy and bound by Austria, Slovenia, the Veneto and the Adriatic. Much of the region was ceded to Italy by Austria only after the First World War; a border dispute with Yugoslavia rumbled into the 1970s. Understandably, it is marked by variety – ethnic, linguistic, cultural, gastronomic and topographical.
The south and centre consist of a broad alluvial plain whose glistening fecundity is fed by rivers descending from the Julian Alps and the Dolomites. The mediating foothills produce some of the finest white wines in the world. Populous and prosperous, there are many towns with historic kernels where virtually every period of Italian art and architecture is represented, from Roman to modern. Some of the early medieval buildings are particularly striking and important – Aquileia, Grado and Cividale.
There is much fine Renaissance painting and architecture: Palladianism was the dominant creed for a couple of centuries after Palladio’s death, and in addition to painters who established themselves in Venice there are several figures of talent who are not well known outside the region. Painting reached another climax in the eighteenth century as Tiepolo spent the years of his early maturity in Udine.
Udine is the base for the tour. A lively city, it has an extensive historic centre with a succession of enchantingly picturesque streets and squares and a central piazza as fine as almost any in Italy. The other big city visited is Trieste, for centuries the principal Austro-Hungarian outlet to the sea and one of the most important ports in the Mediterranean.
Itinerary
Fly at c. 1.15pm (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Venice. Drive to Udine where all five nights are spent.
In Udine, visit the main piazza with its Gothic and Renaissance loggias, and the cathedral, basically Gothic but much augmented later. The main theme is Tiepolo, the greatest painter of the 18th century, who created several major works in the cathedral, the Oratorio della Purità and the Archbishop’s Palace. A hillock at the centre is the site of the castle, an imposing 16th-century residence housing the art gallery, a fine collection of paintings by artists from the region.
See two of Italy’s best early medieval churches, the Basilica at Aquileia, rebuilt in the 11th century but retaining a 4th-century mosaic floor, and S. Eufemia at Grado with mosaics, pulpit and silver altar frontal. Aquileia was a major Roman city and seat of the patriarchate while Grado was its outer port.
On the way to Trieste, visit Miramare Castle. Completed in 1860 by Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg for his wife Charlotte of Belgium, it preserves their memory and identity. Before 1919 Trieste was the principal seaport of the Habsburg Empire and the busiest port in the Mediterranean, and its broad straight streets and 19th-century buildings have a distinctly Viennese cast. After a troubled 20th century, its fortunes have revived since 1989, demonstrated through grand seafront architecture. Visit the Museo Sartorio, a preserved 19th century Austrian-style Palazzo housing a selection of masterpieces, including a spectacular collection of drawings by Tiepolo.
Cividale is in the hills bordering Slovenia. Founded by Julius Caesar and capital of the first Lombard duchy in Italy, the Tempietto Longobardo possesses the finest 8th-century sculpture to survive in Europe. The Renaissance frescoes by Pellegrino di San Daniele in the church of Sant’Antonio at San Daniele are the finest in the region. Spilimbergo has a Gothic cathedral with 14th-century frescoes.
In the morning visit Villa Manin, residence of the last Doge of Venice, Ludovico Manin. Sacile perfectly reflects the influence of the Republic of Venice in its architecture and interior decorations. Palazzo Ragazzoni is a perfect example of a Renaissance palace in the region. Fly from Venice, arriving at London Heathrow at c. 6.45pm.
Expert speaker
Dr Carlo Corsato
Art historian and lecturer specialising in early-modern art and architecture in Italy and Flanders. He obtained his PhD from the University of Verona on 16th-century painting in Venice and the Veneto. He has lectured and given talks at a number of institutions, including Morley College, the Courtauld Institute, and the universities of St Andrews, Glasgow and Buckingham. He was visiting scholar at the Dutch Institute in Florence and St John’s College, Cambridge. He has contributed to international scholarly journals and exhibition catalogues, and co-edited the first completed monograph on the church of Frari, Venice.
Practicalities
Flights (Euro Traveller) with British Airways (Airbus 319); travel by private coach; breakfasts; 3 dinners with wine, water, coffee; all admissions; all tips for waiters, drivers; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager.
Astoria Hotel Italia, Udine: a well established 4-star hotel located on one of the principal squares in the centre of town. Single rooms are doubles for sole use.
The tour involves a lot of walking in town centres, where coach access is restricted, and a lot of standing in museums and churches. Uneven ground and irregular paving are standard. Some days involve a lot of driving. Average distance by coach per day: 53 miles.
Between 10 and 22 participants.
Before booking, please refer to the FCDO website to ensure you are happy with the travel advice for the destination(s) you are visiting.
Dates & prices
2025
Date
Speaker
Price
22
Date:
29th September - 4th October 2025
Speaker:
Dr Carlo Corsato
Price:
£2,180 ex flights
£2,390 inc flights
(Based on two sharing)Testimonials
“Lecturer Carlo Corsato was very enthusiastic, full of knowledge and interesting ideas, and was very approachable.
”
“Carlo Corsato not only knew his subject intimately, but was also a good communicator and most congenial company.
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