Cividale del Friuli

Cividale is the best place to see the art of the Lombards, a Germanic people who entered Italy in 568 and ruled until the late 8th century. The city was founded in AD 53 by Julius Caesar, then commander of Roman legions in the area. Here you can also find Celtic, Roman, and medieval Jewish ruins alongside Venetian Gothic buildings, including the Palazzo Comunale. Strolling through the part of the city that now occupies the former gastaldia, the Lombard ducal palace, affords spectacular views of the medieval city and the river.