Blogs from Gemona del Friuli, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, Europe

At the foot of the Juliaen Prealps, on Via Augustus that connected Aquileia with Norienna (Austria), Fruili is a series of fortified towns dating from Roman times. Lombards came from Norway through the central plains of Europe in the 5th century, settled and controlled the area until its was annexed to the Republic of Venica in 1420, fell under Austrian rule in 1798, belonged to France for a short time and oscillated between Austria & Italy until annexed by Italy in 1866. What about Yugoslavia, just over the lesser hills? The people mostly speak their own language, Fruileano, rather than Italian and many don't move far from the village in which they were born. That is, apart from all those Fruili folks who emigrated to Australia in the 60's. Our friends live in Gemona del Fruili ... read more

On Friday, September 3rd, the fifth day of the Venice Study Group Program, we all traveled two hours north of Venice to Aquilea with group director Rebecca Ammerman. There in Aquilea we visited a famous Christian Basilica that dated to late Roman times. After lunch we ran through an archaeological museum and hopped on a bus to the nearby resort town of Grado. At Grado, Professor Ammerman told us we could do what we pleased. There were beaches to visit and shops to see. The group split up, and a group of five of us, Me, Jeff, Colleen, Katie, and Claire, wandered down to the shore to find nothing but private beaches. We were frustrated by the lameness of the place, and after about an hour decided to return to Venice. We bought bus tickets and ... read more