Friulian Alps – Italy Guide

During our 3 week stay in Cividale del Friuli, we were lucky enough to be able to visit the surrounding areas with our rental car. The nearby Friulian Alps are particularly beautiful and we visited a few Alpine attractions.

SIGHTSEEING

Fontanone di Goriuda

Fontanone di Goriuda is a gorgeous 80-metre waterfall in Valle Raccolana, in the region Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

From the parking, it is a 10-minute walk to the base of the waterfall. The walk isn’t difficult and the views are spectacular, as you are walking in the forest.

Arrived at the base of Cascata del Fontanon di Goriuda you see a big cave where the waterfall drops down. You can walk behind the waterfall when taking the path to the cave. So cool!!

The pool in front of the waterfall is beautiful but the water is very cold!

Fontanone di Goriuda is known as the waterfall of the sun and the legend says that dwarves live in the cave… though we didn’t meet any!

Fusine Lakes

Fusine Lakes are two glacial lakes in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, very close to the borders of Austria and Slovenia and not far from Fontanone di Goriuda.

The Fusine Lakes are situated at the foot of the Mangart massif on the Italian-side of the Julian Alps. You can spend the day walking around the lakes as well as hiking to various mountain huts and peaks in the Alps.

When the sun is out, the colour of the water is amazing! Unfortunately, we were not too lucky.

Matajur

The Matajur is a mountain of the Julian Pre-Alps. It is located in the eastern part of Friuli and it overlooks the town of Cividale.

The climb to the mountain, covered by woods and meadows, is not very difficult. The shortest and easiest way to reach the summit is to start the ascent from Pelizzo shelter, which can be reached by car on a comfortable paved road.

On the top of the mountain stands the church of Christ the Redeemer, built on the rubble of the chapel inaugurated in 1901 destroyed during WWI and the events related to the Caporetto battle.

From the top, you can see a magnificent panorama: from the Karst, to Slovenia, the lagoon of Grado and the peaks of Canin, Mangart, Tricorno, Monte Nero and even the Dolomites.

Border Tripoint

Peč/Tromeja/Monte Forno/Dreiländereck/Ofen is a 1,508-metre high peak, located at the triple border between Italy, Slovenia and Austria.

The top offers a spectacular view of the Julian Alps, the Gailtal Alps, the Gurktal Alps, the High and Low Tauern and the western part of the Karavanke mountains.

You will notice that the memorials at the top are written in all three languages.

Every year a social event brings together representatives of all three nations.

It’s a fun place to take the kids to… they couldn’t get enough of jumping from one country to another!

FOOD

ANTICA TRATTORIA DA GIUSI

On our way back from Fusine Lakes, we stopped in Malborghetto to have lunch at Antica Trattoria da Giusi. This place had been recommended to us by some local friends, and I have to say that we were SO HAPPY we stopped by!

We were the only clients as it was a weekday lunch during the low season… We had some AMAZING food!

As antipasto, we had Deer Carpaccio with Parmigiano Reggiano, rocket/arugula, and plum reduction.

Followed by Wild Boar Ragù Pappardelle.

And Mushroom and Montasio cheese filled Ravioli with melted butter and smoked ricotta.

For dessert, we tried their Tiramisù cream with Amaretto. Need I say more??

Ah, yes… we also had some grappa. Sorry, no photo.

This place is an absolute must, if you are in the area! Highly recommend both for its food and for the friendly service!

RIFUGIO PELIZZO

We had a delicious and hearty lunch at Rifugio Pelizzo, in Matajur just where you park your car. It is a family-run mountain shelter with very friendly staff.

We had some local cheese.

Some delicious Ragù Tagliatelle.

Sausage.

For dessert, we had Raspberry and Cream Cake.

And Blueberry Cake. All home-made! Yum!

This place is highly recommended both for its food and for the amazing views!

ACCOMMODATION

In Cividale, we stayed in a beautifully appointed apartment right in the heart of town, in Piazza Polo Diacono: Casa in Piazza. This place is a gem.

We booked the 1 bedroom apartment with a king bed.

There were a big kitchen and a sofa bed in the living room.

There was also a perfectly sized bathroom.

It is very clean and practically new. Highly recommended – I think a place like that right in the centre of town is hard to beat! And with so many restaurants and cafés just down in the square!

Also, the building itself is ancient – it dates back centuries and the restoration work was done really tastefully. You can still see part of the original walls in some areas of the apartment!

The mezzanine with loft is the apartment above this and it was lovely too – friends from our same group were renting it, so we got to visit.

The owner and his wife are truly amazing people. Very friendly, helpful, and kind. One day they even took us for a drive to see the vineyards and we had lunch together. More on that in another post though.

If you decided to visit Cividale, look no further: stay at Casa in Piazza for an AMAZING experience.