Civici musei e gallerie di storia ed arte

The first written on the origins of the castle dates back to 983, when Emperor Otto II gave to the Patriarch of Aquileia the castrum of Udine. At the turn of the twelfth century in the upper part of the hill was built the patriarchal palatium, with a triangular tower. It was still occasional residence of the Patriarch of Aquileia who at the time was based in Cividale. From the end of the thirteenth, during the patriarchate of Raimondo della Torre, he wanted to build a new palace place further north. The new building, larger and more luxurious, was equipped with a private chapel and a lounge used to house members of the nobility, clergy and communities, or the Parliament of Friuli, consultative assembly that flanked the Patriarch in legal functions and amministrative. In following the earthquake of 1976, the castle suffered severe structural damage and was only reopened in 1980 with a new layout. Currently, the Museum presents the ground floor room with wooden sculptures of the Collection Ciceri; divided between the ground floor and mezzanine, the Archaeological Museum; the Art Gallery on the main floor and the Hall of Parliament, on the third floor of the Gallery of Prints and Drawings and the Friuli Museum of Phpotography. In 1906 the castle became the museum and today is the seat of the Civic Museums.