Multicultural travel in Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Slavic and Austro-German influences distinguish Friuli-Venezia Giulia from other regions of Italy. Up until after WWII large parts of the Venezia Giulia area, including the capital Trieste, were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire or contested by the then Yugoslavia.

The Miramare castle, on the water's edge of the Trieste Gulf, was built in the 19th century for the Hapsburgs. Emperor Maximillian's vision and its realisation by Austrian architect Carl Junker features the eclectic taste fashionable in Austria and Germany at the time.

The stucco and mirrors of Trieste's sit-down cafés and the broad boulevards and Viennese-style facades also take their cues from the region's north-eastern neighbours.

Friuli, on the other hand, traces its ancient origins back to Celtic and Roman rule. Ancient Roman ruins are most evident in the imperial city of Aquileia, the largest site of Roman remains still being excavated and inscribed on the World Heritage list.

The Romanesque basilica of Aquileia had to be rebuilt after barbarian destruction but the floor survived and is one of the best-preserved examples of early Christian mosaics dating from the 4th century.

Areas of the region that lived under Venetian rule also reflect distinctive marks of this Italian maritime republic. Palmanova is a star city, literally. It was built by the Venetians as a fortress in the shape of a nine-point star and was a masterpiece of military engineering.

This star town was encircled by a moat and protruding ramparts between the points helped defend each section. The cathedral bell tower was even made shorter so it couldn't be seen by approaching enemies.

In more majestic style, the Loggia del Lionello and Torre dell'Orologio of Udine recall Venice's Piazza San Marco. The historic town centre of Spilimbergo, in Pordenone province, is also stamped with Venetian design.

Venetian, Roman, Austrian, and Slavic: The combination of these different cultural identities are reflected in Friuli-Venezia Giulia's architecture and design. In addition, from the border provinces of Trieste, Gorizia and Udine to the inland Pordenone, travellers can round out their cultural experience with culinary diversity. A Viennese sausage and strudel for dessert, followed by prosciutto and frico omelette the next night, or perhaps some good old-fashioned polenta.