Friuli (Italian: [friˈuːli]; Friulian: Friûl [fɾiˈuːl] ; Venetian: Friul or Friułi; Slovene: Furlanija; Austrian German: Friaul) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i.e. the administrative provinces of Udine, Pordenone, and Gorizia, excluding Trieste.
The name originates from the ancient Roman town of Forum Iulii ("Julius' Forum"), now Cividale del Friuli.
Friuli is bordered on the west by the Veneto region with the border running along the Livenza river, on the north by the crest of the Carnic Alps between Carnia and Austrian Carinthia, on the east by the Julian Alps, the border with Slovenia and the Timavo river, and on the south by the Adriatic Sea. The adjacent Slovene parts of the Soča/Isonzo valley from Gorizia/Nova Gorica up to Triglav and the Vipava Valley, forming the Goriška region, may also be considered part of historic Friuli.
The mountainous northern part of the region belongs to the Southern Limestone Alps. From west to east, the region's highest peaks are, in the Carnic Prealps (Dolomiti Friulane)—the Cima dei Preti, 2,703 metres (8,868 ft), Duranno 2,652 metres (8,701 ft), and Cridola 2,581 metres (8,468 ft); in the Carnic Alps—Peralba 2,694 metres (8,839 ft), Monte Bìvera 2,474 metres (8,117 ft) and Coglians 2,780 metres (9,120 ft); in the Julian Alps, the Jôf Fuârt 2,666 metres (8,747 ft), the Jôf di Montasio 2,754 metres (9,035 ft), Mangart 2,677 metres (8,783 ft), and Canin 2,587 metres (8,488 ft), which dominates the plain.
Rivers flowing southwards from the mountains are numerous. The Friulian mountains surround the course of the Tagliamento river, which, at the latitude of Gemona del Friuli first crosses the hills that occupy the center of the Friuli, then flows into a large flood plain. This plain is commonly divided into the High Friulian plain and the Low Friulian plain (Bassa Friulana), whose boundary is the Napoleonic road that connects the cities of Codroipo and Palmanova. To the south of this road is the risorgive zone, where water resurfaces from underground waterways in spring-fed pools throughout the area. South of the plains lie the lagoons of Marano and Grado, which are nature reserves. Other important rivers include the Torre, Natisone, Stella, Isonzo/Soča, and Ausa.
Friuli covers an area of 8,240 square kilometres (3,180 mi2), subdivided among the provinces of Udine 4,905 square kilometres (1,894 mi2), Pordenone 2,178 square kilometres (841 mi2) and Gorizia 466 square kilometres (180 mi2). The historical capital and most important city is Udine, which was also the capital of the medieval Patria del Friuli. Other important towns are Pordenone, Gorizia/Nova Gorica, Sacile, Codroipo, Cervignano del Friuli, Cividale del Friuli, Gemona del Friuli, Monfalcone, and Tolmezzo.
The climate of the Friulian plain is mainly humid subtropical. The climate in this area is suitable for growing white wine grapes, and 2.5% of wine produced in Italy comes from this part of the region. The hills, however, have a continental climate, and the mountainous regions have an alpine climate. On the coast the mean annual temperature is 14 °C (57 °F), while in the inner plains, the average is lowered to 13 to 13.5 °C (55.4 to 56.3 °F; Udine 13.1 °C (55.6 °F), Pordenone 13.3 °C (55.9 °F), Gorizia 13.4 °C (56.1 °F)). Further north, in Tolmezzo, the average temperature is approximately 10.6 °C (51.1 °F). The lowest values are recorded in the Alps: 4 °C (39 °F) at Passo di Monte Croce Carnico (at 1,300 metres / 4,300 ft) and between 5.5 and 7 °C (41.9–44.6 °F) in Val Canale, which is situated 850 metres (2,790 ft) above sea level. In the coldest month, January, temperatures vary between approximately 4.5 °C (40.1 °F) in Monfalcone and nearly −5 °C (23 °F) in Passo di Monte Croce Carnico, with intermediate temperatures of 3 °C (37 °F) in Udine and −2 or −3 °C (28 or 27 °F) in Valcanale. Gorizia, a short distance from Udine, enjoys a particularly milder micro-climate with its approximate annual average of 4 °C (39 °F). In the warmest month, July, the temperatures range between 22.5 and 24 °C (72.5–75.2 °F) along the coast and plains and between 14 and 16 °C (57–61 °F) in Val Canale.
Precipitation in Friuli is relatively abundant; the distribution of rainfall varies a great deal during the course of the year. Minimum values in the southern part generally fall between 1,200 and 1,500 mm (47–59 in) (Gorizia over 1,350 mm (53 in) and Udine over 1,400 mm (55 in)), whereas the alpine area's maximum annual rainfall is approximately 3,000 mm (120 in). The Julian Prealps is one of Italy's rainiest regions: Musi receives about 3,300 mm (130 in) of annual precipitation, sometimes even 5000 mm, and can receive 400 mm (16 in) in a single month. In some areas of Friuli, excessive rainfall has caused erosion and the flooding of many rivers. Snow is sparse in the southern plains (3 or 4 snowy days each year in Udine and Pordenone) but falls more consistently further to the north (Val Canale 25 days, Sauris 23 days, and Passo di Monte Croce Carnico 28 days).
The following weatherbox is from Udine, the main city of Friuli.
Friuli, Mandament of Portogruaro included, is inhabited by over 1,000,000 people.
One of the most important demographic phenomena in Friuli was emigration. It began in the final decades of the 19th century and ended in the 1970s. It is estimated that more than a million Friulian people emigrated away over a period of approximately one hundred years. According to the most recent census by AIRE (2005), Friulian émigrés living abroad number 134,936. Of these, 56.0% reside in Europe, 24.0% in South America, 10.3% in North America and 4.7% in Oceania. This data only reflects those Friulians and their descendants who have Italian citizenship. The descendants of Friulians are excluded from the census because they are not Italian citizens. Friulians in the world have supported cultural associations called Fogolârs furlans, of which there are 46 in Italy and 156 in the rest of the world.
In the prehistoric era, Friuli was home to the Castellieri culture and the Raeti. These peoples were the dominant culture in the area from about the 15th century BC until the early historical period. During the course of the 4th century BC Friuli was also settled by the Carni (in ancient Greek Καρνίοι), a tribe of unknown ethnicity which may have spoken a Celtic, a Venetic or a Rhaetic language, and which introduced advanced techniques of working iron and silver. According to Strabo [4.6] the Carni inhabited "the country about the Adriatic Gulf and Aquileia" and both Pliny [3.22(18)] and Ptolemy [3.1] ascribe Aquileia, Concordia and Forum Julii to belong to the "towns of the Carni" in the "country of the Carni". The Carni worshiped the deity Belenus which is attested by the most numerous votive inscriptions found in and around Aquileia. A northern mountainous area of Friuli still retains the ancient name Carnia.
Beginning from the 2nd century BC, Friuli was colonized by the Romans: Aquileia was the fourth largest city of Italy during Roman imperial times, capital of Regio X of the Italia province (the Augustan region Venetia et Histria). The city was the most important river port on the Natissa river, dominating trade between the Adriatic Sea and northern Europe (carried over the Via Iulia Augusta road). Aquileia owed its importance to the strategic position it has on the Adriatic sea and its proximity to the Alps. This location allowing Rome to intercept barbarian invasions from the East. Julius Caesar quartered his legions in Aquileia during winter. The development of other centers, such as Forum Iulii (Cividale del Friuli) and Iulium Carnicum (Zuglio), contributed to the increase in economic and cultural wealth of Friuli until the first barbarian incursions, at the beginning of the 5th century. In the final decades of the 3rd century, Aquileia became the center of one of the most prestigious bishoprics of the empire, competing in Italy with Milan and, subsequently, Ravenna, for second place to Rome. A Hun invasion marked the start of Friuli's decline: Aquileia, protected by meager forces, was forced to surrender and was razed to the ground by Attila in 452. After the retreat of the Huns, the survivors, who had found shelter in the lagoon of Grado, returned to the city, but found it completely destroyed. The reconstruction of Aquileia was never completed and it never regained the old splendour of the capital of X Regio. The city remained important even after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, due to the creation of the Patriarchate of Aquileia. It ranked among the highest ecclesiastic authorities in Italy from the mid-6th century onward. The lack of security in the Friulian plain, crossroads of all the great barbarian invasions, drove many people to seek shelter on the islands of the lagoons or in fortified hill-villages, causing a generalized depopulation of the more fertile part of the region and its consequent colonization by barbarian gentes.