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Discovering Udine
Udine is a lively and dynamic city of art in the heart of Friuli, halfway between the seaside and the mountains: culture, history, wine and food and modernity only enriches the territory's well-rooted tradition.
If you want to visit this town start your tour at the Piazza della Libertà (Liberty Square), repeatedly indicated as "the most beautiful Venetian square on dry land", with the elegant Loggia del Lionello, a stunning example of Gothic-Venetian style; in front of it you can see the renaissance Loggia di San Giovanni, a portico incorporating the Torre dell'Orologio (Clock Tower), under which, in the past, the main gate to the castle opened. The Castle, overlooking the town from a hill, is an important building and home to the Civic Museum, remarkable for its Parliament Hall with frescoes by Tiepolo, Grassi and Pomponio Amalteo; the main floor is occupied by the Galleria d'Arte Antica (Gallery of Ancient Art).
Close to this square if you like shopping you can treat yourself in the Via Mercatovecchio, full both of suggestive historical buildings and elegant and modern shops, and from there just a short walk and you'll be in Piazza Matteotti with its central fountain designed in 1543 by Giovanni da Udine, a pupil of Raffaello.
Passing past the Palazzo del Comune (Town Hall) one arrives at the Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square) where the majestic and sacred building, with its Latin cross formation, whose oldest parts date back to 1335, can be admired; next to the Cathedral, the Oratorio della Purità (Oratory of Purity) where the fresco of the"Assunta", one of the Tiepolo's masterpieces, is on show, however, bearing witness to the artist's greatness is the Palazzo Arcivescovile (Archbishop's Palace) which hosts the Museo Diocesano (Diocesan Museum).
A visit to the Galleria d'Arte Moderna (Modern Art Gallery) is recommended, where very interesting collections of 19th and 20th Century art are on show; the Gallery is also an important venue for exhibitions as is the central Chiesa di S. Francesco (Saint Frances' Church).
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