Civic Museums and Galleries of History and Art, Udine

The first written news about the origins of the castle dates back to 983, when Emperor Otto II donated the castrum of Udine to the Patriarch of Aquileia. At the end of the 12th century, the patriarchal palatium was built in the upper area of the hill, with a triangular tower. It was still an occasional residence of the Patriarch of Aquileia, who at that time was based in Cividale. From the end of the 13th century, during the patriarchy of Raimondo della Torre, a new palace was built further north. The new building, larger and more luxurious, was equipped with a private chapel and a hall or caminata, used to host members of the nobility, clergy, and communities, that is, the Parliament of the Patria del Friuli, a consultative assembly that assisted the patriarch in judicial and administrative functions. After the 1976 earthquake, the castle suffered severe structural damage and was reopened only in 1980 with a new exhibit layout. Currently, the museum presents on the ground floor a room with wooden sculptures from the Ciceri Collection, the Archaeological Museum divided between the ground floor and mezzanine, on the noble floor the Art Gallery and the Parliament Hall, on the third floor the Gallery of Drawings and Prints and the Friulian Photography Museum. In 1906, the castle became a museum and today it is the seat of the Civic Museums; it houses an art gallery, the archaeological museum, an art library, and a photo library. The rooms often host temporary exhibitions.