Cividale del Friuli
The Lombard Temple and the Devil's Bridge
On the banks of the Natisone river, at the foot of the hills on the border with Slovenia, Cividale del Friuli is one of the most fascinating historic towns of north-eastern Italy. Founded by Julius Caesar around 50 BC with the name of Forum Iulii, from which the name of the whole region, Friuli, derives, it became in 568 the capital of the first Lombard duchy in Italy, when the Lombards, a Germanic people, crossed the Alps and conquered much of the peninsula. Since 2011, Cividale has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "The Longobards in Italy. Places of power".
Its most precious monument is the Tempietto Longobardo, the Lombard Temple, a small chapel of the eighth century, part of the monastery of Santa Maria in Valle, which preserves an extraordinary decoration: a frieze of stucco, with six large female figures of saints, elegant and solemn, surrounded by refined plant motifs, among the most important works of early medieval art in Europe. In the Museo Cristiano, next to the Cathedral, are the Altar of Ratchis, carved with reliefs, and the Baptistery of Callisto, Lombard masterpieces, and the Museo Archeologico Nazionale displays finds from the Lombard necropolises. The symbol of the town is the Ponte del Diavolo, a stone bridge over the Natisone, linked to a legend according to which the devil built it in exchange for the soul of the first to cross it, and the inhabitants deceived him by sending a cat. Not to be missed is the gubana, a spiral cake filled with dried fruit and grappa.
Tip: taste the gubana in a local pastry shop; go down to the river under the Ponte del Diavolo for the best view.
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