Aviano (; ) is a town and (municipality) in the
Regional decentralization entity of Pordenone at the foot of the
Dolomites mountain range in
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli-Venezia Giulia () is one of the 20 regions of Italy and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The regional capital is Trieste on the Gulf of Trieste, a bay of the Adriatic Sea.
Friuli-Venezia Giulia has an area of and a ...
, northeast
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
.
Aviano is home to the C.R.O. (''Centro di Riferimento Oncologico''), one of the main Italian cancer hospitals and research centr
The
Piancavallo ski resort is part of the municipality.
History
Findings from Aviano show that the area has been populated since the Bronze Age.
It became an agricultural area dependent on the municipality of
Concordia Sagittaria. The name itself, Aviano, derives from a prediale name, that is, referring to land belonging to a landowner named Avilius or Avidius.
In the early Middle Ages Aviano was made up of parish churches and villages in correspondence with today's hamlets. Around the 11th century, on a hill overlooking the surrounding plain, a castle was built by the
Patriarchate of Aquileia
The Patriarchate of Aquileia was an episcopal see and ecclesiastical province in northeastern Italy, originally centered in the ancient city of Aquileia, situated near the northern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It emerged in the 4th century as a m ...
and given to local feudal lords. The castle was besieged several times, during the 14th century first by the Da Camino and then by the Carraresi, and in 1411 it was conquered by the Hungarian troops of
Emperor Sigismund.
Most historians believe that a commercial center developed where present day Aviano is situated, with a cultural and defensive center in the castle area. Aviano was a possession of the
Patriarchal State of Friuli until 1420, when it came under the influence of the
Venetian Republic, like the rest of the territory of the Patriarchate of Aquileia. In 1477 and 1499 Aviano and the surrounding villages were devastated by
raids of Ottoman troops in which a large part of the population was killed or taken prisoner.
With the fall of the Venetian Republic, Aviano followed the fate of the rest of Friuli and Veneto, and was part of the
Napoleonic Empire and then the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...
(
Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia ) before being
annexed to the
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...
in 1866 as a consequence of the
Third War of Italian Independence, itself a part of the
Prussian-Austrian War.
In 1911 one of the first airfields of the Italian Air Force was built in Aviano, which in the following years was enlarged and became increasingly important until it became the
NATO Aviano AB base in the 1950s. At the end of the sixties the mountain area of Piancavallo became a ski and winter sports resort.
[ :it:Aviano]
Geography
Although the village is located at the foot of the
Dolomites, the municipality extends to an altitude of above sea level (Cimon del Cavallo peak).
Climate
Main sights
Religious buildings
*The Cathedral of San Zenone (''Duomo''), built between 1775 and 1832. It has paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries, one of which attributed to
Paolo Veronese
Paolo Caliari (152819 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( , ; ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of religion and mythology, such as ''The Wedding at Cana (Veronese), The Wedding ...
's school.
*The church of St. Gregory, in the ''
frazione
A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...
'' of Castello, with a precious fresco cycle of the ''Passion of Christ'' (late 16th century).
*Sanctuary of the Madonna del Monte(Madonna of the mountain), built in 1615 on the site of a Marian apparition, was remodeled in the Baroque style.
*Church of Santa Caterina, in the ''
frazione
A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...
'' of
Marsure, built in the fifteenth century and richly frescoed with scenes from the life of
St. Catherine of Alexandria.
*Parish Church of Giais, retains a baroque altarpiece of O. Gortanutti.
*Parish Church of San Martino (''
frazione
A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...
'' of San Martino di Campagna). Guards inside a canvas of Pomponio Amalteo and some wooden works of the seventeenth century.
*Church of San Floriano of the fifteenth century.
Secular buildings
*The remains of the Castle (first half of the 10th century), on a hill nearby the city, including two towers, the
mastio and the walls. The latter include the Renaissance-style church of Santa Maria e Giuliana (1589), which houses a precious stone ''Pietà'' sculpture by masters from
Salzburg
Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...
.
*The village has a total of 7 Venetian villas protected by the Regional Institute Venetian Villas (IRVV). The following villas can be visited upon request: Villa Policreti-Fabris with the adjoining frescoed chapel, Villa Bonassi and Villa Zanussi-Fabris. You must then remember the imposing presence of Villa Menegozzi Brazzoduro dating from the mid-eighteenth century (the interior is decorated with landscape views done with tempera technique).
Natural places

*The ski resort of
Piancavallo, elevation above sea level, at the foot of Monte Cavallo, . On one of the peaks of Monte Cavallo there is a bronze statue of the Virgin Mary by the sculptor Pierino Sam Pordenone (1921-2010).
Transport
Aviano is served by a station on the
Sacile-Pinzano Railway: the
Aviano railway station.
The Sacile-Pinzano line connects the town of
Sacile, on the
Venice-Udine railway, to the village of
Pinzano, on the
Gemona del Friuli-Pinzano line.
As of today, the service is limited from
Sacile to
Maniago.
Aviano Air Base

Aviano Air Base was established by
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
in 1911. The base was among the first ones available to Italian aviation.
There has been an
American presence at
Aviano Air Base since the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. In 1954 the Italian and American governments signed a joint use agreement and by 1955, HQ
United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) had moved its Italian operations from
Udine
Udine ( ; ; ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Carnic Alps. It is the capital of the Province of Udine, Regional decentralization entity ...
to Aviano. The base went through a period of hosting rotational fighter squadrons. With the declining use of the Italian live fire range, the rotational squadrons became a thing of the past. Aviano became a war reserve material storage base and played a big part in
Desert Storm. In 1992, HQ
16th Air Force and the 401st Fighter Wing moved from
Torrejon Air Base,
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
to Aviano. The Wing became home to two F-16 fighter squadrons, the 510th FS and the 555th FS. Both squadrons relocated from
Ramstein AB in 1994 and redesignated. The wing was redesignated from the 401st Fighter Wing to the
31st Fighter Wing in 1994 as Aviano took on permanently based aircraft for the first time in over 50 years. The base currently performs a NATO mission with close coordination with Italian personnel.
International relations
Aviano is
twinned with:
*
Larissa, Greece
People
*
Marco d'Aviano (1631–1699), Capuchin friar confessor of Emperor
Leopold I of Austria, was born in Aviano, in the hamlet of Villotta.
*
Fabio Rossitto (1971), former football player in Italia Serie A and in the Italian national team.
*
Amy Adams (1974), American actress who lived for nine years in Aviano; after this experience she named her daughter Aviana.
*
Luca Manfè, winner of
MasterChef US season 4
References
External links
Official websiteAviano 31st Fighter WingAviano American High School AlumniAviano Blog(Blog about stores, restaurants, and events surrounding Aviano AB)
{{authority control
Cities and towns in Friuli-Venezia Giulia