Friuli

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Friuli (Furlan: Friûl, German: Friaul, Slovenian: Furlanija) is an area in northeastern Italy, comprising the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The capital of Friuli is the city of Udine.

Historical Friuli is the land de Livence al Timâf, which means from the Livenza river in the west to the Timavo river in the east. Today these territories are divided between Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Regional Languages and Dialects
4 See also
5 External links

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Geography

Friuli borders Venezia Giulia (with which it forms the autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia) and the Italian region Veneto to the west, the republic of Austria to the north and the republic of Slovenia and the port city of Trieste to the east.

Friuli is situated between the Alps to the north and the Adriatic Sea to the south. Most of the area is flat and planar including a strip of the coast. Friuli has warm summers and mild winters. It is part of Southern European Italy but considered by its inhabitants as part of Central Europe.

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History

In the year 50 BC, Romans founded a town, named Forum Julii (The market of Julius) after Julius Caesar, Rome's ruler. After the decline of the Roman Empire the town was conquered by Charlemagne and became part of the Frankish Empire. The city of Forum Julii became Civitas Austriae (Eastern City).

The former name now refers to the whole land ruled from this town, under the modern form of Friuli. The town itself was given the name Cividale del Friuli.

During the Early Middle Ages, Friuli was an independent state under the control of the Patriarch of Aquileia, that expanded even outside the region.

Image:FlagofFriuli.png

In 1450 the region was incorporated entirely within the Republic of Venice (Serenissima). In 1518, the eastern part became a province of the Austrian empire, while the western part remained Venetian (including the actual capital Udine) until 1797. In 1866, The latter part was then incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy together with the region Venetia.

In 1921, after World War I, the whole region of Friuli became part of Italy but strong ties with Austria still remain today. To some extend Friuli keeps stronger ties with others regions of Mitteleuropa (Central Europe) than those with Italy.

This identity is the reason for the autonomous status of the region and a policy of promoting the region's own customs and traditions (including promotion of the language).

April 3 is a Friulian regional holiday in honor of April 3, 1077, the date of birth of the first independent Friulian state in history.

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Regional Languages and Dialects

While standard Italian is the official language of the region, several other regional languages and dialects are spoken in the province. Friulian is spoken in Udine and neighboring areas, Venetian is spoken in the southeast and along the Adriatic coast and Slovenian is spoken in the border regions. Historically, German was also spoken in some areas in the northeast of the province, but today German-speaking communities exist only in a couple of villages in Carnia.

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