ARCHITECTURE + AIRBORNE European Travels: UDINE, ITALIA

July 6, 2015
It was the final day of vacation and we were not ready to head straight home. Zach had an afternoon flight so we decided to hang out in northeastern Italy before heading to the airport. Our first stop was in Udine for lunch and some exploration.

Udine is located in the Friuli Region in a plain adjacent to the Alps. It is the second largest city in Friuli and at one time controlled the movement between Italy and northern Europe. The city was on the Roman road the Via Julia Augusta; however, there is no evidence that the Romans occupied it.

The Castello di Udine and the Chiesa Santa Maria were built in the 13th century. The Cattedrale di Udine and the Chiesa di San Francesco were built during this same time period in the Romanesque style.

Piazza della Liberta and Piazza Matteotti were both built during the Venetian times, which can be seen when looking at the architecture of the buildings in the piazza. The city is also home to many palazzi which were built for the wealthy families who hired the best architects and artists of the time to build and decorate them, such as Palladio, Tiepolo, etc.

Our plan was to walk around and grab something for lunch. It was a Monday and around 1:00 which means practically nothing was open except for restaurants and cafes. We grabbed a tourist map and headed into the center, stopping at a few piazze and grabbing a pre-lunch spritz to cool off before heading to lunch at Mezza Libbra Burger and Bakery in Piazza San Giacomo. I think it might be the first place that I have been to that serves bagels in Italy.

After lunch we headed up to the castello before heading to our next destination, Pordenone. Udine is a great city to explore and spend a day in. The shopping looks good, although it was Monday and during their lunch time so most places were closed during our visit. It is an easy train ride from Vicenza, which I used when I traveled there back in November/December time frame.