Friuli consists of a flat region, extending from a morainic amphitheater, to the Tagliamento river and to the Adriatic coastline, with its plain and lagoons; of a pre-Alpine part with the Carnic Pre-Alps and of an Alpine Part, which includes the Carnic and Julian Alps. The Carso area shows interesting geological formations called "Doline" and countless grottoes.
The regional capital is Trieste, ruled by a special statute; the other important cities are Udine, Gorizia, Pordenone.
Trieste's Friuli region is a sliver of coastline across the Adriatic Sea from Venice. Any glance at a map will show you that it would probably be part of Slovenia today were it not for the border juggling that followed World War I. Though primarily known today for the shipping industry and naval yards around the Hapsburgs' old port city of Trieste, this region was actually a major center of both ancient Rome and the Dark Ages' Lombards.
The cuisine of Friuli-Venezia Giulia ranges from the firmly Alpine mountain fare of the borderland Tirol to some exotic and hard-to-pronounce variations reflecting the region's mixed cultural heritage, coastal region, and Slovenian slant. Among these are cevapcici, Trieste's signature meatball dish; jota, minestrone with sauerkraut; and brovada, a secondo that combines turnips, grape skins, and pork sausage -- a farmer's supper if ever there was one. The town of San Daniele produces what is widely acknowledged as the best prosciutto in all of Italy -- no small claim.
Finally, Friuli wines range from local varieties such as the common Tocai, sweeter Verduzzo, Malvasia, and beefier Collio to more international grapes such as merlot, cabernet and cabernet Franc, all the pinots, and chardonnay. |
