Santa Maria La Longa

The Municipality of Santa Maria la Longa, situated in a central position in the plain of Friuli, comprises five towns, with the chief town Santa Maria la Longa and the hamlets of Tissano, Mereto di Capitolo, Santo Stefano Udinese and Ronchiettis.

In ancient times (before 1000) it was called "Meleretum" and then, around 1031, it was called "Villa sclavorum" as it was repeopled with farm workers from Slovenia.

The settlements in the territory of Santa Maria la Longa are documented only starting from the Roman period; in fact, many archaeological finds scattered in a uniform way over the whole area date back to that age.

It is worth mentioning the hamlet of Tissano, which was destroyed by the Turks in 1477; its antiquity is proven by the finding - in the 1950s - of a Lombard cemetery.