Spilimbergo

Set at the edge of the broad Tagliamento river, Spilimbergo was an important medieval hub belonging to the German Spengenberg counts who grew rich on the river’s trade. As a result the small town is rich is Renaissance palazzi and boasts a magnificent circular castle, which includes the Palazzo Dipinto (Painted Palace) sporting 15th-century frescoes all over its facade. The Tagliamento also enriched Spilimbergo in another way, offering up multicoloured pebbles for use in the town’s mosaic studios. Artisans from here had a hand in many of Venice’s most beautifully mosaicked palaces and churches, and Spilimbergo’s unique mosaic school is now the only one of its kind in Europe.