Italy 2000: Day 4: Thursday, April 28: Udine

Thursday, April 28: Udine

Today we are off to Cividale del Friuli, a small town about 15 km east of Udine.
On the way, we had one of those pleasant encounters that add so much to a trip.
This time, it was with a charming gas station attendant, who was open and chatty
and made you feel that your Italian was at least serviceable.

Cividale, in times past, was the major Lungobard (Lombard) city in the area
during their ascendancy in this area during the 5th to 8th century AD. When you
are traveling in areas somewhat off the beaten path, you are exposed to areas of
history that you may not have encountered before.

The Lungobards came to Italy from northern Europe and were in charge of this
area for three hundred years--the period in the middle of the Dark Ages.
Cividale has preserved a fair amount of Lungobard religious art which can be
seen in the churches and in the very nicely put together archeological museum in
town.

Cividale appeared to be a very lively, pleasant town set on the steep banks of
the Natisone River. The town was packed with tourists--Italian school children
on field trips and a good number of Germans traveling in packs. We visited the
Duomo and
walked around the town, following the itinerary in our local Friuli guide book.
We did stumble across a street called the Stretta della Giudiaca, which we
learned later was the center of the small Jewish community in times past. The
highlights of Cividale were the 8th century Tempietto Lungobardo--a small chapel
decorated with very old statues, frescoes, and stucco work from the "Dark Ages"
and the Archeological Museum, which, in addition to some very interesting
artifacts, was nicely arranged, well lit, and stylishly signed (all in Italian).
One of our best small museum experiences in Italy.

After a light lunch at an outdoor restaurant called the Taverna
Lungobardo--pasta with meat sauce, salami cooked in vinegar with polenta--served
by a very harried but friendly waitress, we were off for Gorizia, by way of
Cormons, a noted wine and restaurant town. The countryside changed from flat
to lightly rolling hills and grape vines were everywhere. Cormons itself is not
much but there are number of wineries and restaurants of note there. We took a
quick drive up to the Slovenian border (the other side looked much the same as
the Italian side) and then headed for Gorizia--on the border with Slovenia.

Gorizia is also known as the Garden City and there were indeed many tree-lined
broad boulevards. We wanted to visit the restored synagogue and Jewish museum
but we had an hour to kill before it opened. We headed for the Castello and
walked around there and got to see (but not understand) an exhibition on the
Habsburg presence in Gorizia during the 17th century.

We were at the synagogue just before four and there was no sign of activity.
While we were calling the tourist office to confirm the opening hours, the doors
opened and we went in. There is no longer a Jewish community in Gorizia since
the end of WWII and the Trieste community has helped maintain the museum with
the assistance of a large bequest in the will of one of the community's
members--the last Michelstaedter. Part of the museum is devoted to the art and
writing of Carlo Michelstaedter, who committed suicide and is memorialized by
his family. The rest is devoted to the history of the community and Judaism in
general. It is very, very nicely done and quite moving. The synagogue itself
is located upstairs and it is very simple and and lovingly maintained. It was
very rewarding visit for us.

A quick gelato stop and we got on the road for Udine....I took a short walk
around town to check out dinner possibilities. We ate at a very nice small
trattoria--La Tavernetta--with a very creative menu. It was not crowded and
again the waiter had time to spend with us. The food was very, very good--a
dish of aged San Daniele ham to split, a tagliatelle with aparagus (tasty but
overcooked again) and lamb chops with polenta for Diana and a sampler of three
pastas, including a dynamite spelt with sausage and leeks, followed by a baked
ricotta tart wrapped in speck for me. We had some of our delicious red wine
left--a Tazzelenghe from the western part of Friuli--so we asked for a plate of
cheese. The sheep cheese was tangy and smooth, but the aged montasio was out of
this world...a cross between an aged gouda and a parmigiano-reggiano.

A very special meal....the best so far....and it only cost about $60
US--unbelievable. It was only a short stroll back to the hotel and bed.

Jim and Diana