Other sights in Friuli Venezia Giulia
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Basilica
The entire floor of the Latin cross-shaped basilica, rebuilt after an earthquake in 1348, is covered with one of the largest and most spectacular Roman-era mosaics in the world. The 760-sq-metre floor of the basilica’s 4th-century predecessor is protected by transparent glass walkways, allowing visitors to wander above the long-hidden images, which include episodes from the story of Jonah and the whale, the Good Shepherd, depictions of various sea creatures and birds, and portraits of, presumably, the wealthy Roman patrons of this early Christian church.
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A
Castello di San Giusto
Often overlooked in favour of Trieste’s emblematic Castello di Miramare, the sturdy 15th-century Castello di San Giusto sits atop a strategic hill where it was built by Trieste’s Venetian rulers over older fortifications. The castle contains a recently renovated museum and armoury with a raft of exhibits, including suits of armour and other weapons. You can also wander around the walls and pop into the Lapidario Tergestino with its modest jumble of statuary and architectural fragments.
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Porto Fluviale
Scattered remnants of the Roman town include extensive ruins of the Porto Fluviale, the old port, which once linked the settlement to the sea. Also free to visit are the partially restored remains of houses, road and the standing columns of the ancient Forum on Via Giulia Augusta.
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Museo Archeologico Nazionale
Locally excavated statues, pottery, glassware and jewellery are displayed in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, one of northern Italy’s most important collections. One intriguing artefact is the gilded bronze head of an emperor dating from the 3rd century AD.
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B
Museo Civico di Storia Naturale
The Museo Civico di Storia Naturale displays a musty array of stuffed animals and bones. Literature fans can poke about documents and other memorabilia linked to two great 20th-century novelists in the Museo Joyce & Svevo.
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Riserva Naturale Regionale della Valle Cavanata
Riserva Naturale Regionale della Valle Cavanata protects a 1920s fish-farming area and extraordinary birdlife in the east of the lagoon. More than 230 bird species have been observed, including the greylag goose and many wading birds.
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Carsiana Giardino Botanico
Local flora (best seen in spring) buds and flowers at the Carsiana Giardino Botanico in Sgònico. You will see everything from local oaks to various types of rhododendron. Take bus 42 from Trieste to Prosecco and change onto bus 46.
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Castello di Duino
A privately owned 14th- and 15th-century bastion filled with all sorts of artworks and curios and surrounded by a verdant garden. The Prague poet Rainer Maria Rilke was a guest here in 1911 and 1912. Take bus 41 from Piazza Oberdan.
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Chiesa di Sant’Ignazio
The grand Chiesa di Sant’Ignazio, which was built from 1654 to 1724, lords over the town centre with a broad brush stroke of Eastern mystery, topped as it is by onion-shaped domes.
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C
Roman Theatre
Behind Piazza dell’Unità d’Italia rise remains of the Roman theatre, which was built between the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Concerts are held here occasionally during summer.
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Palazzo Coronini Cronberg
Palazzo Coronini Cronberg is not only a sprawling 16th-century residence jammed with antiquities and art, it is also set in lush gardens that are free to visit.
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Borgo Castello
Gorizia’s main sight is its castello perched, rather like Trieste’s, atop a knoll-like hill. It was restored in the 1920s after suffering serious damage in WWI.
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Synagogue
Inside Gorizia’s 18th-century synagogue is a modest exhibition dedicated to the history of the Jewish presence in Gorizia.
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Museo Paleocristiano
Aquileia’s Museo Paleocristiano exhibits early Christian mosaic floors and tombstones from the surrounding ruins.
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Casa Carsica
Local ethnographic tradition comes to life at the Casa Carsica in Rupingrande, north of Villa Opicina.
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Palazzo Attems
Palazzo Attems is worth a visit for the mansion and the regional 20th-century art.
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Casa delle Farfalle
More than 400 species of tropical butterflies are bred at the Casa delle Farfalle.
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Villa Manin
Contemporary-art lovers will appreciate the exhibitions at Villa Manin, a villa in Passariano, 30km southwest of Udine. Home to the Venetian noble Manin family from the 1600s until as late as the 1990s (when the last count died heirless), which included the last of Venice’s doges, the vast mansion is surrounded by 19 hectares of manicured gardens. Napoleon Bonaparte humiliated Doge Ludovico Manin by turning the mansion into his headquarters in mid-1797 and, in October, signing the Treaty of Campoformido, under which Venice passed to Habsburg Austria. Alight from a train on the Venice–Udine line at Codroipo and take a taxi (or, if you have the patience, one of the few SAF…
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Scuola Mosaicisti
The Scuola Mosaicisti was founded in 1922 and has a public gallery documenting the history of Roman mosaics and its manifestation in present day Friuli. Guided tours can be arranged for €5 or for free with a FVG Card.
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Duomo di Santa Maria Maggiore
The 14th-century Duomo di Santa Maria Maggiore is a Romanesque-Gothic mongrel and offers a west entrance with seven rose-coloured windows that look like so many portholes. Admire the 13th- and 14th-century frescoes depicting Bible scenes and the magnificent 15th-century organ decorated by Il Pordenone.
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Castello
Just behind the duomo rises the brooding carcass of the Castello, a medieval fort whose 15th-century Palazzo Dipinto (Painted Mansion) attracts particular attention with its frescoes.
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Chiesa di Santa Maria del Castello
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Modern Art Gallery
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Santuario di Barbana
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