Medieval castle · 12th–18th century · Strassoldo, Friuli

Castles of Strassoldo – Upper Castle (Main Building)

The Castles of Strassoldo are a pair of medieval fortified complexes in the village of Strassoldo, in the municipality of Cervignano del Friuli in the province of Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The Upper Castle (Castello di Sopra) and the Lower Castle (Castello di Sotto) stand in close proximity and have belonged to the Strassoldo noble family, one of Friuli’s oldest dynasties, for nearly a millennium. The Upper Castle’s main residential building is a rare and well-preserved example of Friulian noble architecture set within lush gardens that have been continually cultivated since the Middle Ages.

At a glance

Type: Medieval fortified castle complex; noble residence
Period: First documented in the 12th century; modified through the 18th century
Style: Medieval / Venetian Gothic elements; Renaissance and Baroque modifications
Location: Strassoldo, Cervignano del Friuli, Province of Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy (45.8608° N, 13.3234° E)

Overview

The Strassoldo castle complex is among the most remarkable survivals of medieval aristocratic heritage in the Friuli plain, an area that formed a strategic borderland between the Patriarchate of Aquileia, the Republic of Venice, and the Habsburg Empire. Unlike many Italian castles that passed into public or institutional hands, both Strassoldo castles have remained in the continuous ownership of the Strassoldo family, lending them an exceptional authenticity. The castles are set within extensive grounds featuring historic gardens, ancient trees, and fish-pond systems of medieval origin.

History

The Strassoldo family is first recorded in Friulian documents of the 12th century, and their fortified residence at Strassoldo is mentioned in medieval chronicles of the Patriarchate of Aquileia. The village and its castles experienced periods of conflict through the wars between Venetian and Habsburg powers in the 15th and 16th centuries, with the complex suffering and recovering from several episodes of damage. The Upper Castle underwent significant renovation works in later centuries, acquiring the residential character visible today, while retaining elements of its medieval defensive structure. The famous gardens were laid out and refined over several centuries, with their current form largely dating to the 17th and 18th centuries.

What you see

The main building of the Upper Castle (Castello di Sopra) is a multi-storey stone residence with characteristic Friulian architectural details: mullioned windows, stone archways, and an interior courtyard. The building is surrounded by one of the finest historic garden complexes in Friuli, featuring a water garden with canals fed by natural springs, ancient plane trees, wisteria-draped pergolas, and a romantic landscape garden layout. The interiors, accessible during guided visits, preserve period furniture, family portraits, and decorative art accumulated by the Strassoldo family over centuries.

Cultural significance

The Castles of Strassoldo are listed among the most important historic monuments of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and are regularly featured in regional heritage itineraries. Their unbroken private ownership gives them a living, inhabited quality rare among Italian castles and allows visitors an unusually direct encounter with the material culture of Friulian nobility. The gardens are open seasonally and have been recognised as among the finest historic gardens of north-eastern Italy.

Practical information

Address: Strassoldo, 33050 Cervignano del Friuli UD, Italy (45.8608° N, 13.3234° E)
Opening hours: Gardens open seasonally (typically spring and autumn weekends); check official sources for current visiting hours
Admission: Fee applies for guided garden and castle visits; check official website

Getting there

Strassoldo is located approximately 30 km west of Trieste and 6 km north-east of Cervignano del Friuli, which is served by regional rail from Trieste, Udine, and Venice. By car, take the A4 motorway (Venice–Trieste) to the Palmanova exit, then follow signs toward Cervignano and Strassoldo. Cycling routes connect the village to the surrounding Friuli plain. The nearest airport is Trieste – Friuli Venezia Giulia Airport (TRS), approximately 30 km away.

Sources & resources

Historical events at this place (1)

2022 Magici Intrecci Autunnali

In Strassoldo (municipality of Cervignano del Friuli), a town a stone&#39;s throw from the Fortress of Palmanova and the ancient Roman colony of Aquileia, there are two twin and contemporary castles: the Castello di Sopra and the Castello di Sotto.



Heart of a beautiful village of medieval origin, immersed in lush centuries-old parks, lapped by resurgence streams, the Castles of Strassoldo are among the most important and ancient in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and among the very few to be still inhabited by it. family that had them built more than a thousand years ago (the counts of Strassoldo).



LEGENDS:

Many legends linger in this atmosphere rich in ancient memories. The first wants the name to have originated from the mythical Rambaldo of Strassau, a valiant commander of the Roman general Flavius ??Ezio, who fought against Attila when he destroyed Aquileia, while a more romantic one, which originates from a true event that occurred in the fourth century. , which started fierce battles between free and ministerial feudal lords, narrates that the beautiful Ginevra Strassoldo was kidnapped by the suitor Federico di Cucagna, immediately after her wedding with Odorico di Villalta and who turned into stone to resist the suitor, for come back to life only when the beloved husband found her and kissed her, after a thousand adventures.



HISTORY:

Archaeological findings testify that the Strassoldo area was already populated at the end of the Upper Paleolithic. Remains of Roman buildings and some Lombard finds suggest a continuity of settlements. The proximity of the important Roman road Julia Augusta makes this hypothesis plausible. An ancient document indicates that already in 565 there was a manor in this place known as &quot;the two towers&quot; and that it was built with the ruins of Aquileia, destroyed by the Huns. The current castles each developed successively around one of the original towers. Free feudal lords, the Strassoldo drew their investitures directly from the Emperors, before the birth of the temporal power of the Patriarchs of Aquileia (1077). The genealogy of the Lords, subsequently Barons and finally Counts (of the Holy Roman Empire) Strassoldo is full of illustrious personalities. Crusader fence with Barbarossa fell between Cilicia and Armenia, Artuico, one of the main exponents of the Free Feudal Lords, was Prefect General of Friuli for Frederick II of Sweden, Frederick ambassador of Maximilian I in Turkey and Poland, Panfilo Apostolic Nunzio Archbishop of Ragusa , Governor of Rome, Giovanni condottiero, armed a galley with which he participated in the battle of Lepanto, Rizzardo heroic archducal captain of Gradisca during the war against the Venetians (1615-1617), Raimondo Principe archbishop of Eichstatt in Bavaria and many others. More recent history recalls that the co. Michele di Strassoldo was governor of Lombardy-Veneto (first of Maximilian of Habsburg) and then of Styria and his sister, Francesca Romana, married Field Marshal Radezky in the noble church of the castle. Also worth mentioning is the Austrian Field Marshal Baron Kuhn von Kuhnenfeld, Councilor and Minister of War of Emperor Franz Joseph and Chancellor of the Military Order of Maria Theresa, who stayed in the castle for a long time. His daughter, Rosa, married Giulio Cesare Strassoldo, who died prematurely at 35, leaving her alone and in the midst of many difficulties, with a 6-month-old son and a 10-year-old daughter, but she did not give up and rolled up sleeves. It then gave birth to a successful entrepreneurial activity, with the cultivation of rice in the surrounding marshy countryside and the transformation of the castle mill into a pileria, becoming the official supplier of the Imperial Court of Vienna.



ARCHITECTURAL EVOLUTION:

Around the two towers of the original &quot;castle with two towers&quot; (mentioned as early as 565), one of which is still visible, incorporated into the main body of the castle of Sopra (recently restored), two adjacent fortified bodies developed, namely the Castello di Sopra and that of Sotto, which were gradually enlarged and fortified, until the complex became an important center of feudal power in Friuli. Set on fire in 1381 by Patriarch Philip of Alen&ccedil;on, they were promptly restored. During the fifteenth century, the defensive works were further strengthened, in order to better deal with the possible raids of the Turks, who in reality never besieged it. The visit, which took place in 1489, of Emperor Frederick IV, with his entourage of 650 men and 500 horses is another demonstration of the importance of the castle and its lords. The sixteenth century was fatal for Strassoldo who was repeatedly conquered and burned by the Confederates of Cambrai. Since then, with the decline of feudalism, its military function will fail; however, it will remain an important jurisdictional seat and residence of some members of the castellana family. In 1593, the Castello di Sopra welcomed the Venetian delegation for the signing of the treaty for the construction of the nearby Palmanova Fortress. When all military and political functions ceased, in the first half of the eighteenth century the brothers Giuseppe and Nicol&ograve; di Strassoldo-Graffemberg, of the line called di Sopra, who in the meantime had also extended their ownership to the castle of Sotto, had important works carried out aimed at canceling what was left of iron and medieval and give the complexes the appearance of peaceful country residences. Since then few changes have been made.



THE SECULAR PARKS OF RISORGIVA OF THE STRASSOLDO CASTLES

The luxuriant parks of the Strassoldo di Sopra and di Sotto castles are the result of major refurbishment works carried out between the end of the seventeenth and the beginning of the eighteenth century, when swampy areas, once exploited as an element of defense and water, were reclaimed. it was admirably transformed into the dominant artistic element. Models of the art of gardening in the late Baroque, in which formal elements are placed in a completely new relationship with nature, the gardens of the Strassoldo castles constitute the beginning of the landscape garden in Friuli. The water that flows abundantly in the subsoil throughout the Friulian plain finds at a certain point an impermeable wall of clay and silt that makes it change direction suddenly, pushing it upwards. The characteristic springs are thus formed on the surface, which give life to most of the waterways between the Tagliamento and the Isonzo. The outcrop of the waters takes place along the so-called &quot;resurgence line&quot;, on which the Strassoldo castles are located.



THE PARK OF THE CASTLE OF SOPRA

The original setting is still visible in the park of the Strassoldo di Sopra Castle, along with two ancient wells and the remains of a magnificent eighteenth-century orangery with mighty columns, the focal point of the garden and once equipped with a tympanum. The hedge of black hornbeams, which in the eighteenth century delimited the perimeter of the garden, along the river, has today been transformed into a set of centuries-old trees, with trunks with deep vertical cracks, next to which other very tall plants of the same era stand out. a majestic specimen of magnolia grandiflora and numerous plants of taxus baccata. A hundred years ago, field maples, lime trees, horse chestnuts and a singular gazebo of palms were planted, also now of considerable size and, finally, thirty years ago, the farthest banks from the castle were enriched with dozens of willows weeping, becoming the undisturbed kingdom of mallards, ducks and swans, while the numerous flower beds were adorned with hundreds of specimens of ancient roses, tea and English hydrides, camellias and hydrangeas.



THE CASTLE TODAY - FORMS OF ENHANCEMENT AND OPENING:

The owners open the manor today to:

- exclusive events;

- guided tours with personal welcome by the owner;

- 2 events dedicated to craftsmanship and niche horticulture with a large influx of the public, well cared for and organized by the owner (&quot;Magici Intrecci&quot;, in spring and autumn).

- The castle of Sipra has 5 self catering holiday homes, obtained from the ancient houses of the village and the tower.

https://culturalheritageonline.com/places/castles-of-strassoldo-upstairs-main-building-l4722/

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Castles of Strassoldo – Upstairs – Main building