Cividale bridge, Duomo place and palio

Last Updated on 06/05/2023

So, in the first part, we stopped in a wonderful small chapel of the Langobards. Now we go to famous Cividale bridge and to the center – it’s time for shooting competition.

The central square is fenced off with stands with seating and metal fences. Good seats in the stands or good standing positions should be taken half an hour before the start.

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At first, the local jester entertained the people.

Everything is in Italian, so we didn’t understand much.

Then the participants of the competition came up with a drum rumble.

The backdrop, which serves, by the way, the Palazzo dei Provveditori Veneti (mid-16th century, the project is supposed to be Palladio, now an archaeological museum), was carefully covered with panels. Naive spectators from the steps of the palace, who decided that empty, unoccupied places were just for them, were urgently forced to evacuate into the general crowd.

Duomo Place

After watching a little competition, let’s look around.

Competitions are held on the Duomo Place – the central place of the city. The Duomo itself is located just nearby – the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta (15-18 centuries). According to the guide, the style is Venetian Gothic, although it seems to me that baroque ears are clearly visible here. Inside the basilica I was not attracted by anything. But behind the basilica there is a small museum of Christianity and the treasures of the cathedral, where I would love to go, as other masterpieces of the Lombard era are exhibited there.

Another historic building on the place is the Municipal Palace (rebuilt in the 16th century) with a statue of the founder of the city, Julius Caesar (copy, original in Rome).

Cividale Bridge

We go further and finally we reach the symbol of the city – the Devil’s Bridge. The story is typical:
– they could not build
– then the devil appeared
– asked for the soul of the first one who will pass in exchange for help
– the inhabitants are not fools, they let a pet instead of a man.

But the bridge is really beautiful – light and powerful at the same time.

The river below is called Natisone. The bridge was built in the 15th century, but the modern bridge is not the original, but an almost exact copy (the roadway was slightly widened). In 1917, the bridge was blown up to prevent the enemy from passing. However, it was completely useless – they moved to the other side on the same day. With the help of the Germans and thanks to accurate measurements taken just before the war, the bridge was rebuilt in a year. During the Second World War, the bridge was also damaged, but much less.

From this observation deck, enclosed by a wooden fence, you can see the entire bridge. The observation deck is located behind the church, which is in the left photo above. Many went down to the water – on one side of the bridge there are steps down.

At the end of the day’s program, there was a procession of nobili i popolani. As it was written in the program, with the aim of rewarding the winners.

Further, the program included medieval music, a performance, jugglers and acrobats, an equestrian performance, a pyrotechnic performance – but all without us, alas.

And we watched another piece of the battle with different types of weapons and, with regret, went to Bibione from this cozy festive town.

Bibione as a resort.
Map of the sights of the region.