Castello di Villalta

Villalta stands in a prime position at the heart of Friuli . Everyone who wishes to visit one of the most beautiful and romantic places of Friuli, should not miss a visit to this historic castle. Villalta is the most important medieval castle of Friuli,overlooking the valleys of this region, and on a clear day one can see almost to the sea.Its history is lost in the mists of time, as Roman foundations and traces of a fortified village testify to its ancient past. The castle dates back to the year 1000. The castle has been besieged in battles several times. Often it suffered partial destruction, but itwas always rebuilt again between 1200 and 1400.To its monumental structure was added in 1500 a middle part, called il Palazzo. For centuries it had been the property of the Lords of Villalta-Caporiacco. In the sixteenth century the Counts della Torre, a powerful family from Lombardy(four of whom became Patriarchs of Aquileia)became owners of the castle through marriage and acquisition. Their battles with the Counts of Gorizia werelong and fierce. The adventures of one of their family member, Count Lucio della Torre, a man of incredible wickedness and violence caused the Castleof Villalta to be taken by the Venetian Republic,called La Serenissima.

The invasion by Napoleon's troops in 1797marks the most important although painful of recent events. The double perimeter walls, the patrol paths, the sentinel walks, the drawbridge, the defense towers and the picturesque and romantic internal courts well reflect an age of greatness and strategic importance. The importance of this Castle is also confirmed in the region's capital, Udine, where oneof the city gates is called “porta Villalta”. Entering the castleone comes first into the hall of armours,to the right is the room of iron coffers, and to the left the "cucina friulana" with its typical "fogolar" (fireplace).On the walls hang the shiny copper pans used in the past, andthe seven buckets hanging over the stone sink, one for every day of the week, which were filled with the fine water from the well in the lower courtyard.This kitchen, it is said, is the one famously described in a book by Ippolito Nievo "Confessions of an Italian". The main floor of the Castle, decorated with 17th Century frescos, is composed by the Great Hall,the tapestry drawing room, the Bernadotte drawing room with its french"grisaille" paintings(One of Napoleon'scelebrated Marshals, Bernadotte, visited Villalta.He later became king of Sweden)thenthe small library andthe family drawing room, hung with portraits of ancestors.From a small door of the library one can enter the tower where one can observe some cruel reminders of torture and prison.Outside, down some steps of the upper courtyard, on the site of an ancient prison which stood in one of the towers a charming chapel was built in 1600.The Chapel,with its altar and a lovely painting of the Madonna della Corona, enhances the atmosphere of this enchanting place.

The Lords of Villalta, a branch of the ancient Caporiacco progeny, boasting its Roman (Cavorius) and Celtic origin, as well as the blood related branch of the Castello (nowadays Frangipane), are among the most important historic families of Friuli.They belonged to the rank of the free feudal families, directly invested by the emperors for centuries.They were, therefore, antagonized by the powerful Patriarchs of Aquileia.The family numbers many important people such as the famous leader Artico di Villalta, Adalgerio bishop of Feltre and the poet Federico di Villalta, who had fallen unhappily in love with the beautiful Lucrezia Mantica. The romantic atmosphere of the castle is exhalted by the ghosts which inhabit the ancient manor.One is the ghost of the beautiful Ginevra di Strassoldo, who was kidnapped on her wedding day on herway to Villalta, by Odorico di Cucagna, who, loving her himself, did not want her to marry Enrico di Villalta.The other isthe ghost of Caterina di Carpenedo, lover of Lucio della Torre, who, when tired of his young mistress, decided to bury her behindone of the walls of the wooden staircase which leads to the first floor.However,both ghosts are very gentle ghosts!