The Castle of Udine (Italian: Castello di Udine) is a historical building in

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 ...

Northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

, built upon a hill in the historical center of the city (138 meters above sea level).

History

The Castle hill was long supposed to be made of drift accumulating during centuries. However, a legend about its origin says that when

Attila Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...

the Hun (also called the Scourge of God) plundered

Aquileia Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river Natiso (modern Natisone), the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times. Today, the city is small ( ...

(one of the biggest cities of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

at that time) in the year 452, he asked his soldiers to build a hill to see Aquileia burning. This was made by filling the helmet of each soldier with ground. Recent scientific studies showed that the hill is artificial, but much older than the legend presupposes. In fact, the origins of the hill are in the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, and it might date to a period between 3000 and 3500 years ago, contemporary to the slightly higher

Silbury Hill Silbury Hill is a prehistoric artificial chalk mound near Avebury in the English county of Wiltshire. It is part of the Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites UNESCO World Heritage Site. At high, the hill is the second tallest prehistoric man ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, England. However the castle Hill in Udine is bigger by volume, making it the biggest prehistoric

mound A mound is a wikt:heaped, heaped pile of soil, earth, gravel, sand, rock (geology), rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded ...

in Europe. The first official statement of the existence of a building on the hill dates back to 983: the Holy Roman Emperor

Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy. Otto II was ...

donated to Rodoaldo,

Patriarch of Aquileia This is a list of bishops and patriarchs of Aquileia in northeastern Italy. For the ecclesiastical history of the diocese, see Patriarchate of Aquileia. From 553 until 698 the archbishops renounced Papal authority as part of the Schism of the T ...

a "castrum", a military building. The present building has the form of a palace and it was built on the ruins of a fortress destroyed in the year

1511 Idrija earthquake The 1511 Idrija earthquake ( or ) occurred on 26 March 1511 with a moment magnitude of 6.9 and a maximum EMS intensity of X (''very destructive''). The epicenter was near the town of Idrija (now in Slovenia), although some place it in ...

. The construction had started in 1517 and the works had lasted for 50 years. The external decoration of the palace and the paintings in the Parliament Hall are due to

Giovanni da Udine 150px, Portrait in Vasari's Vite Giovanni Nanni, also Giovanni de' Ricamatori, better known as Giovanni da Udine (1487–1564), was an Italian painter and architect born in Udine. A painter also named ''Giovanni da Udine'' was exiled from his na ...

, one of the pupils of

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

. The council of the

Patria del Friuli The Patria del Friuli (, ), also known as the Patriarchal State of Aquileia (), was the territory under the temporal (political) rule of the Patriarch of Aquileia, and one of the ecclesiastical states within the Holy Roman Empire. It was creat ...

was one of the first parliaments in the world, and it was suppressed after the French occupation in 1797. Today the castle hosts the History and Art Museum of the City of Udine. Image:Salite_castello_udine.jpg, The slope to the Castle Image:UdineCastelloFrontingresso.jpg, Front entrance of the Castle File:Udine, castello 01.JPG, Rear view of the Castle Image:Udine Castle.jpg, Rear view with the square File:L’Angelo del campanile della Chiesa di Santa Maria di Castello di Udine.JPG, The Angel of the steeple of the Church of Santa Maria di Castello di Udine

References

{{Authority control 1517 establishments in Italy 16th-century fortifications

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

Castles in Friuli-Venezia Giulia Museums in Friuli-Venezia Giulia Local museums in Italy Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor Attila the Hun Bronze Age sites in Europe Palaces in Friuli-Venezia Giulia