Thursday, July 17, 2008

Udine's castle and main central square, Piazza Liberta'.



Scenes of Udine’s Loggia del Lionello (1448) and the Castle (picture above), located in the centre of the town.

The Loggia and the Castle were developed in the Middle Ages. Legend says that Attila The Hun, as he came through the area with his troops, had ordered the burning of the town of Aquilea, which was the 2nd most important port in the Roman empire after Ostia (Rome). In order to see the burning, Attila had his soldiers build him a mound from where he could see the burning of Aquilea. And so it was that Udine’s Castle lies atop of a small hill which apparently has soil underneath which isn’t native to the area (it was brought in with the soldiers’ helmets).

The square where the Loggia and the Castle are located is called Piazza Liberta’ and is representative of that period and is also one of the most beautiful mainland Veneto squares. Directly opposite the Loggia one finds the Tower Clock which was designed by Giovanni da Udine in 1527 (all pics by M. Rimati).

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