Cividale del Friuli
Cividale del Friuli (UNESCO 2011, rif. 1312) fu Forum Iulii, la capitale del Ducato Longobardo del Friuli (568–774 CE), e conserva nel Tempietto Longobardo (c.736 CE) gli stucchi più raffinati della scultura altomedievale europea — sei sante a grandezza naturale sul registro superiore della parete occidentale, nella stessa qualità esecutiva dei mosaici di Ravenna ma in rilievo tridimensionale.
At a glance
Cividale del Friuli Friuli-Venezia Giulia (the most precisely Cividale del Friuli zone Cividale del Friuli Friuli-Venezia Giulia Italy 46.0965 N 13.4329 E UNESCO WHS 2011 reference 1312 Longobards in Italy: Places of the Power (serial site of 7 components): the Cividale component (the Tempietto Longobardo (the “Longobard Oratory”; officially “Oratorio di Santa Maria in Valle”): the most important surviving Longobard monument in Italy; built c.736 CE (the dating: the most recent dendrochronological analysis of the roof timbers (2012 CE study by the Università di Udine): the oak beams date to 729–742 CE (±10 years); the stylistic date based on comparison with manuscript illumination and metalwork: c.730–740 CE); the dimensions: 12 m × 6.8 m × 5.5 m (a small oratory); the location: in the center of the medieval city (Via Monastero Maggiore 1); the organization: the plan is divided into 3 aisles by 2 rows of ancient columns (re-used Roman columns from the Forum Iulii); the frescoes (the 8th-century CE frescoes on the arch and apse: the “Majestas Domini” (Christ in Majesty) in the apse (fragments surviving; the Christ figure visible in the upper half); the symbols of the 4 Evangelists in the arch spandrels (partly restored in the 19th century CE by the Austrian restorer Alois Knoll)); the stucchi (the stucco program on the upper register of the west wall: the most important element: (1) the 6 female saints (the “Principesse” (the “Princesses”: the popular name for the 6 stucco saints: the name was given in the 19th century CE when they were misidentified as portraits of Longobard princesses; they are hagiographic figures (Christian women saints): names not identified with certainty but probably including the Virgin Mary, Saint Catherine, Saint Agnes, and others); the technique (the stucchi: gypsum plaster mixed with sand and organic fiber (probably flax or hemp fibers), applied in 3 layers (arriccio + intonaco + stucco), sculpted wet, then painted (traces of original paint visible under UV examination): the sculptural quality is comparable to the best Roman stucchi of the 2nd century CE (the Casa dei Grifi on the Palatine; the Villa della Farnesina stucchi now in Palazzo Massimo)); (2) the interlaced vine scroll (the decorative band below the 6 figures: an interlaced vine scroll in the “inhabited scroll” tradition (birds and small animals living in the vine tendrils): the oldest surviving inhabited scroll in Italy in stucco)).
Key facts
- Il Ducato Longobardo del Friuli e perché Cividale del Friuli fu la prima capitale longobarda d’Italia (prima di Pavia), e la storia delle “Principesse” del Tempietto come paradigma del dibattito sulla scultura longobarda: the Duchy of Friuli (the Duchy of Friuli (Ducatus Foroiulianus): the first Longobard duchy in Italy (568 CE: Alboin crossed the Alps with the Longobard army on April 2, 568 CE; the first city captured: Cividale (Forum Iulii) in May 568 CE; the first Longobard duke of Friuli: Gisulf I (568–c.576 CE): Alboin’s nephew; the duchy was the military command for the northeastern frontier against the Avars and Slavs); the importance of Cividale (Forum Iulii was the administrative center of the duchy for 206 years (568–774 CE), when Charlemagne conquered the Longobard kingdom; the “Forum Iulii” name (the Roman origin of the name: the forum founded by Julius Caesar in 52 BCE as a military supply base for the Gallic Wars; the city was later named “Forum Iulii” after the forum)); the Principesse debate (the “Principesse” of the Tempietto: the 6 stucco figures (the debate: the 3 main hypotheses: (1) Queen Theodelinda and 5 Longobard princesses (19th century CE; now rejected: Theodelinda died 628 CE, 100+ years before the Tempietto was built); (2) 6 specific Christian saints (the mainstream current view: supported by the frontal hieratic pose and the nimbus (halo) above each figure: standard iconography for saints, not queens); (3) donors (a minority view: that the figures represent noble Longobard women who donated to the building of the oratory): the consensus (2010 CE): the figures are saints, not historical persons; their specific identities cannot be determined with certainty)
- GPS (Oratorio di Santa Maria in Valle, Cividale del Friuli): 46.0965° N, 13.4329° E; Museo Archeologico Nazionale: 46.0978° N, 13.4316° E
History
Da Forum Iulii 52 BCE al UNESCO 2011 (the most precisely Cividale del Friuli zone history: the Roman foundation (Forum Iulii: the Roman market town founded by Julius Caesar (or under his authority) c.52 BCE as a supply base for the Alpine frontier; the Roman city plan is preserved in the modern street grid of Cividale: the “Cardo Maximus” (the north-south main street) corresponds to the current Via Carlo Alberto; the Roman forum is under the current Piazza del Duomo); the Longobard conquest (568 CE: the Longobards (the “Lombards”: the Germanic people from the lower Elbe (Pannonia/modern Hungary at the time of the Italian invasion); under King Alboin (c.530–572 CE): the conqueror of the Gepids in 567 CE and of Italy in 568 CE); the Longobard legacy in Cividale (the Cividale archaeological record (the Longobard cemetery at “Gallo di Zuglio” (excavated 1867–1870 CE; the grave goods: fibulae, combs, swords, scramasaxes, glass vessels, amber beads) is the most intact Longobard burial deposit in Italy: 230 graves excavated; the objects in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Cividale)); the Carolingian period (774 CE: Charlemagne conquered the Longobard kingdom; Cividale became the seat of the Patriarchate of Aquileia (774–1751 CE: the most powerful ecclesiastical institution in northeast Italy for 1,000 years); the UNESCO inscription (2011 CE: reference 1312).
What you see
Tempietto Longobardo stucchi, Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Ponte del Diavolo, Ipogeo celtico (the most precisely Cividale del Friuli zone visit (1 day): the Tempietto Longobardo (Via Monastero Maggiore 1; €4; Mon-Sat 9:30–12:30 / 15:00–17:30 (summer 18:30); the key feature: the 6 stucco “Principesse” on the west wall (light from left (west) windows: the best light 10:00–12:00 AM in the morning session; the detail: the hair (the “Principesse” have different hairstyles: braided, loose, covered; they represent 3 different conventions of female holiness in the 8th century CE); the columns (the 6 columns in the nave: 4 of the 6 are re-used Roman columns from the Forum Iulii (the column capitals: 2 are Byzantine-type (5th century CE); 2 are Theoderic-era (6th century CE); 2 are probably Longobard (7th–8th century CE)); the Museo Archeologico Nazionale (Piazza del Duomo 13; €5; Tue-Sun 8:30–19:30: the Altar of Ratchis (737–744 CE): the marble altar commissioned by the Longobard duke Ratchis of Friuli: the most important surviving Longobard marble relief; the 3 sides of the altar: the Adoration of the Magi (east face) + Christ in Majesty with Angels (south face) + the Visitation (north face); the Longobard grave goods; the Celtic hypogeum (the underground passage cut into the rock under the city: function debated (cistern? escape route? ritual space?))); the Ponte del Diavolo (the medieval bridge over the Natisone gorge (the bridge: 22 m single arch; the legend of the “Devil’s Bridge”: the bridge was so long it could only have been built with the devil’s help; the standard European bridge legend); the view of Cividale from the bridge: the cliff face with the old town perched above the Natisone gorge).
Practical information
- Come raggiungere Cividale del Friuli da Udine e Trieste, e il programma ideale di visita in un giorno includendo il Tempietto Longobardo + Museo Archeologico + pranzo nei “maclâfs”: il trasporto (Udine → Cividale del Friuli: Ferrovie Udine-Cividale (FUC): il treno regionale (30 min; €2.70; ogni 30 min; la linea è gestita da Ferrovie Udine-Cividale, non Trenitalia: acquistare il biglietto in stazione a Udine alla macchina FUC; non vale il biglietto Trenitalia)); Trieste → Udine: Trenitalia (1h30; €8.50; poi FUC per Cividale); Milano → Udine: Trenitalia Frecciargento (3h15; €35); il programma 1 giorno: mattina 9:30: Tempietto Longobardo (45 min) → 10:30: Museo Archeologico Nazionale (1h30: vedere l’Altare di Ratchis 737 CE e le fibule longobarde in oro; la sezione celtica con le teste di pietra III-II sec. BCE) → 12:30: pranzo ai “maclâfs” (i ristoranti nei locali dei vecchi lavatoi sul Natisone: la cucina friulana (il frico con la polenta; il prosciutto di San Daniele); il baccalà alla cividalese); pomeriggio 14:30: Ponte del Diavolo → Ipogeo Celtico (la grotta sotto la città: €1) → 16:00: Duomo di Cividale (il Tempietto Pagano (in realtà longobardo-cristiano: i 5 pannelli in marmo VIII sec. CE nella sagrestia del duomo))
Getting there
Ferrovia FUC da Udine (30 min, €2.70, ogni 30 min). GPS Tempietto: 46.0965/13.4329. Tempietto €4. Museo Archeologico €5. 8:30–19:30.
Nearby
- Aquileia (UNESCO 1998 rif. 786 — Basilica con mosaico paleocristiano IV sec. CE, 2600 m²) — 50 km (auto 45 min; il mosaico della Basilica di Aquileia (313 CE: il pavimento musivo più antico in una chiesa cristiana ancora in posizione originale: 2.600 m² di mosaico del IV sec. CE; la scena del gallo che combatte una tartaruga (simbolo della lotta tra il bene e il male: uno dei simboli cristiani più antichi d’Occidente)); il Museo Archeologico Nazionale (€5))
- Udine (Piazza della Libertà + affreschi Tiepolo 1726 CE nel Patriarcato) — 18 km FUC (30 min; €2.70; il Castello di Udine (1517 CE normanno; il Museo Civico con la Madonna di Palma il Giovane); il Palazzo Arcivescovile (gli affreschi del Tiepolo 1726 CE: €6; la “Caduta degli Angeli Ribelli” e il “Giudizio di Salomone”: la prima commissione pubblica di Giambattista Tiepolo))
Gallery
Sources
- Wikipedia, Longobard Oratory of Cividale del Friuli; Cividale del Friuli; Duchy of Friuli; Altar of Ratchis, accessed June 2026
- UNESCO, Longobards in Italy, Places of the Power, WHS reference 1312, inscribed 2011
- Polacco, Renato (ed.). La Basilica di Aquileia. Padova: Programma, 1989 (for Longobard-era Friuli context)
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