From far away one can already see the
tower with the clock - very dear to the local people - surrounded by gentle hills.
In fact, coming from Udine along the long straight stretch characterised by enchanting ups and downs - made in the sixteenth century for scenographic purposes only - you will see little by little the current outline of the castle, defined
"the castle of writers and of storytellers": in fact, the seventeenth-century poet Ermes da Colloredo, the great nineteenth-century writer Ippolito Nievo and the author and traveller Stanislao Nievo lived and expressed their creativity here.
On the background, an enchanting range of Alps and Pre-Alps protects the castle.
The
Castle of Colloredo di Monte Albano dates back to the fourteenth century and, from the beginning, it has been a typical example of "residential" castle, built as a safe dwelling at the centre of the estate for defence purposes.
Famous are the fights of the castle owners, the Colloredos, against the Patriarchs, the counts of Gorizia, the Camineris, the Savorgnans, the Torrianis. In 1420 the complex passed under the Venetian rule; in 1511 it suffered both the well-known sack on the last Thursday before Lent and the destructions of an earthquake that hit the whole Friuli.
After the feudal fights that characterised the 16th century, the owners embellished the by then very old dwelling with Renaissance splendour. The decorations by
Giovanni da Udine, a pupil of Raphael, for the famous small studio of the castle date back to that period: today, one can see interesting fragments with stuccos and paintings depicting zoo-anthropomorphic figures.
Before the 1976 earthquake the castle was made up of a central body, three towers and two wings. A triple circle of walls of elliptical perimeter can still be seen.
Today, waiting for the reconstruction of the whole complex, it is possible to see the tower with the clock and the west wing, which houses the Comunità Collinare del Friuli (Friuli's Hill Community).
A curious fact
Ippolito Nievo wrote
Confessioni di un italiano (Confessions of an Italian) in this castle.
Castle of Colloredo di Monte Albano
Piazza Castello, 7
33010 - Colloredo di Monte Albano (UD)
www.tourismfriulicollinare.it
Activities
The castle can be reached by bicycle along the dirt tracks of the bridle paths, which link Udine to Buia crossing the charming Friuli Collinare area. For information:
www.vallecormor.com.
Information
The panoramic position and the surroundings make the visit to the castle interesting even from outside only.
Secretary's Office of the Consortium for the Protection of Friuli Venezia Giulia's Historic Castles
Tel.: +39 0432 288588
Fax: +39 0432 229790
www.consorziocastelli.it
info@consorziocastelli.it
