Valvasone Arzène

The early history of the castle of Valvasone tells how in 1218 CE the original manor-house was kept by Ulvino and Bonfante for the Patriarch of Aquileia. These were the founders of the first feudal family, but in 1268 this family was killed during the rebellion of Corrado from Valvasone. The side of the Tagliamento River, which flows near the town, was too strategically important to leave it without any form of control, so the Patriarch assigned Walterpertoldo from Spilimbergo to control the area. In 1273 he did a great restoration to the buildings near the river, in order to effect the best form of control against invasion. These works, however, did not modify the structure of the town, that has the castle in its centre and the other buildings are situated around it. When Walterpertoldo died, and the first generation of the Spilimbergo ended, a contest for the succession in controlling Valvasone began between two really important families in the area: the Zuccola and the Cucagna. In 1292 the Patriarch Raimondo della Torre gave to Simone di Cucagna the power to control Valvasone and its surroundings, beginning the second genealogy of feudal overlords of Valvasone.

In that period Valvasone had a militar structure, but it was also the residence of those nobles who built the real village, the precursor of the modern town. Before 1300 the nobles decided to build up a surrounding stone wall; this was possible because they parcelled out the urban pieces of land and then gave these pieces to the craftsmen and shopkeepers. In front of the drawbridge the public loggia was built. Meanwhile, a well was dug by the Torre delle Ore. Now these interventions are difficult to find because of more recent constructions. In the 1350s the nobles decided to enlarge the village: in this way they create one of the most beautiful examples of medieval town-planning in west Friuli. In the north area they built a small church, devoted to San Giacomo and outside of the walls a small village was created, with its own church, dedicated to S. Giovanni and S. Maria.

Pendant une dizaine d'années, l'aspect de la ville demeura sensiblement le même. Mais après la chute du patriarche et l'arrivée des Vénitiens , la structure de Valvasone ne put supporter l'essor du commerce et du trafic sur la route Portogruaro-Venzone. Giacomo Giorgio, originaire de Valvasone, souhaita alors agrandir le village et restaurer les anciens bâtiments et les églises. Il fut notamment chargé de la construction du dôme (1449) au cœur du village. De ce fait, les deux autres églises furent abandonnées. Le nouveau lotissement, plus petit, était davantage résidentiel que les précédents et c'est dans cette zone qu'une nouvelle petite église, dédiée aux saints Pierre et Paul, vénérés par la population, fut construite. Enfin, l'hôpital, en activité depuis 1335, fut restauré.

En 1511, la population attaqua le château, qui était cependant vide, et y mit le feu. À la fin du XIXe siècle, comme dans de nombreuses villes du Frioul, les remparts furent détruits, mais l'atmosphère médiévale est restée intacte.

• Zir dai Arboras : dans la nuit du 5 janvier, de nombreux feux de l'Épiphanie sont allumés, et près de chaque feu se trouve une combinaison de musique, de vin chaud épicé et de gâteaux.
• Fête de la Saint-Pierre et de la Saint-Paul : en juin, la ville honore ses deux saints patrons.
• Medioevo a Valvasone : évocation historique durant la deuxième semaine de septembre.

• Tullio Avoledo
• Harry Bertoia
• Antonio Montico