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:''For the Italian Autonomous region, see Friuli-Venezia Giulia.''

'Friuli' (Furlan: '''', German: '''Friaul''', Slovenian: '''Furlanija''') is an area of northeastern Italy that comprises a major part of the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Friuli's capital is Udine.
Friuli is a region in the north eastern part of Italy that has always had its own language and culture. As a border region it has also be occupied by many different people from other European powers. The original Celts there were conquered by the Romans, then the Longobards, then Slavic people, then the Venitians, then the Austrians, and finally the Italians. For two hundred years skilled tradesmen have been leaving Friuli to work all over the world. Today there is some question whether the Friulano language and culture will survive beyond this century.
Friuli has a history which is forgotten. It is a border region on the north eastern edge of Italy vulnerable to attacks, invasions and foreign occupations. In Italian history we do not read much about Friuli.
Historically, Friuli was bordered by the Livenza river to the west and the Timavo river to the east (''de Livence al Timâf''). At present, Friuli spans between Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto.

Contents

Geography

History

Regional languages and dialects

See also

External links

Geography

Friuli borders Venezia Giulia (with which it forms the italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia), the italian region of Veneto to the west, the republic of Austria to the north and the republic of Slovenia to the east. It is situated between the Alps to the north and the Adriatic Sea to the south. A part of the area is flat and planar, the other part has growing hills up to the mountains. Friuli has warm summers and mild winters. It is part of Southern Europe, but is considered as part of Central Europe by its inhabitants.
Friuli offers a variety of natural environments, some of which are not well-known and still uninhabited. Friuli's location, lying between the Alpi Carniche and the Adriatic Sea, makes for various environmental nuances, including snow-covered mountains, lush green valleys at the foot of the mountains, fertile hilly areas, tidily cultivated and flourishing plains, and sandy, golden beaches.

History

In ancient times, Friuli was inhabited by Celtic tribes before being colonized by the Roman Empire in the 2nd century BC. During Roman colonization it was mainly influenced by Aquileia, a fluvial port where, in those times, lived about 200,000 people; the port city was an important hub and the capital of the Venetia et Histria region of the Empire. In the mainland, cities like ''Forum Julii'' (Cividale del Friuli) and ''Iulium Carnicum'' (Zuglio) were founded during the era of Julius Caesar to expand Roman colonization; the former gave its name to the entire historical region.
The decline of Friuli began in the mid-2nd century AD, when it suffered an increasing number of invasions from barbaric tribes. In the 5th century, Aquileia was sacked and severely damaged by Attila's Hun army. Although it never recovered its previous economic importance, it maintained its status of capital thanks to the presence of the Patriarchate of Aquileia, one of the most important Catholic authorities of the Early Middle Ages.
In the 5th and 6th century, the political capital was moved to the more defendable Cividale. It was the first important city conquered by the Lombards in their invasion of Italy. Friuli became a semi-independent duchy and flourished until the 8th century. After the annexation of the Lombard kingdom by Charlemagne, Friuli became part of the Frankish Empire. The city of Forum Julii became ''Civitas Austriae'' (Eastern City).
The Patriarch of Aquileia gradually extended his political authority to all of Friuli, receiving the ducal title from Emperor Henry IV in 1077. April 3 is a Friulian regional holiday in honor of April 3, 1077, when Friuli first became an independent state. The Patriarchate included Trieste, Istria, Carinthia, Styria and Cadore, and was one of the largest Italian states of the time. Disputes with the growing power of the Republic of Venice marked the history of the area until the 15th century. On the mainland, Cividale was replaced by the city of Udine, which had turned itself into an independent seignory and started to challenge the power of Aquileia itself, later becoming the seat of the patriarch.

In 1420, the region was incorporated entirely within the Republic of Venice (''Serenissima''). In 1516, 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 incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy with the region of Venetia.
In 1921, after World War I, the whole of Friuli became part of Italy, but strong ties with Austria still remain. To some extent, Friuli keeps stronger ties with other regions of Mitteleuropa (Central Europe) than it does with Italy. This identity is in part the reason (the other are the presence of Slovenian speakers and the lost of the territories in the formerly province of Trieste and Gorizia) for the autonomous status of the region and a policy of promoting the region's own customs and traditions (including promotion of the Friulian language).

Regional languages and dialects

While standard Italian is the first official language of the region, several other regional languages and dialects are spoken in Friuli.
Friulian is spoken in the provinces of Udine, Gorizia and Pordenone.
Venetian and its sub-dialects are usually spoken (for historical reasons) in the western border regions (i.e. Pordenone), sparingly in a few internal towns (i.e. Udine, Gorizia, etc.) and much more on the Adriatic coast, including Trieste.
Between Gorizia and Trieste also exists a transiction-dialect, called ''Bisiaco'', a Venetian with influeces of Slovenian and Friulian,
Slovenian is spoken in a few eastern border regions.
German and other Germanic languages are spoken in Val Canale, on the north-east border, and in several exclaves like Timau, Zahre (Sauris) and Plodn (Sappada).
'Note': only Friulian, Slovenian and German are allowed to be locally second-official languages in their historic areas.

See also

★ List of Friulian place names

★ List of Dukes & Margraves of Friuli

★ Friuli-Venezia Giulia

★ Friulian language

★ County of Gorizia

★ Austrian Empire

★ Republic of Venice

External links

★ Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia

★ Friuli Venezia Giulia