The Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Italy is one of the smallest, yet most culturally diverse areas in all the country. This semi-autonomous area is also one of the newest, gaining its modern boundaries and government in 1963. Occupying the extreme northeast corner of Italy east of the river Tagliamento with the Alps looming from the north, the region shares borders with the Veneto region, Austria and Slovenia. This is by far the most easily accessible region from outside of Italy and has traditionally acted as a gateway for Germanic and Slavic invaders over the centuries.

The Friuli’s vulnerability to invasion is evidenced by the fortifications built here from the Bronze Age to the Cold War. However, they did not stop the arrival of Veneti, Istrians and Celts before the arrival of the Romans in the 3rd century B.C. The main Roman towns were Aquileia, Trieste and Cividale, which was named “Foro Iulii” after the city’s founder Julius Caesar. A corruption of this term gives us the modern name of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region.