Ontdek Friuli met je eigen gids / Discover Friuli with your own guide / Scopri il Friuli con la tua guida privata /
Entdecken Sie Friaul mit Ihrer eigenen Fremdenführerin
The nine-pointed fortress built by the Venetians
Palmanova seen from the air
The church
the main square
Palmanova seen from the air
WHAT SHOULD YOU CERTAINLY VISIT IN PALMANOVA?
A VENETIAN STAR SHAPED FORTRESS
It is a pity that when visiting Palmanova it is not possible to make a helicopter flight, because let's be honest this fortress shows itself at its best from the air.
Palmanova was built in 1593 by the Venetians as a defensive bulwark against the invasions of the Austrians and Ottomans. Since 2017 Palmanova is on the Unesco World Heritage List because of its defense works. The Venetians wanted to build a a completely new polygon shaped ideal city from scratch, that offered the most modern defense systems of that time. They used moats, bastions, ravelins and ramparts to keep their enemies away.
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE AND PALMANOVA
To be honest, in the 200 years that followed, the city was never really attacked. This changed in 1797 when Napoleon Bonaparte took over this region and also the city of Palmanova. He invaded this area three times in between 1797 and 1813. After the Treaty of Paris the region was given into the hands of the Austrian Hungarian Empire until 1866 when it was finally returned to Italy after the third war of independence.
Napoleon has left his mark on Palmanova because he added a third ring of fortification, called 'lunette di Napoleone'- Napoleon's crescents. Also it is said that before Napoleon's intervention Palmanova was called Palma (the emblem of victory) and Napoleon decided to add the word "nova" - new - to it.
A WALK ON THE RAMPARTS
A visit to Palmanova is only complete after a walk on the ramparts and through the old (now dry) moat. You can also visit the underground defence gallery named "Galleria Contromina". Palmanova is located on the Alpe Adria cycle route, so you shouldn't be surprised if you see a row of cyclist cycling through the moat ...
MONDAY MARKET DAY AND PALMANOVA OUTLET
If you have the change to visit Palmanova on a Monday you are lucky because that is the market day and the whole central square transforms itself into a lively place full of various stalls offering all kinds of goods.
If you like shopping you are at the right place because only a few kilometers from Palmanova you have the Palmanova outlet full of Italian brands for good prices.
The highlights of Palmanova:
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The ramparts
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The underground defense gallery "contromina"
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Piazza Grande
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Cathedral
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The three access gates
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The historical museum
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The military museum
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The market on Mondays
 Palmanova Outlet |
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 Grado |
 Udine |
 Aquileia |
 Castello Strassoldo |
Event:
Palma alle Armi - The historical re-enactment
On the first weekend of September, Palmanova comes
alive with the great historical re-enactment AD 1615.
Palma alle Armi (Palma at arms): over eight hundred actors
in 17th century costume bring us back to the beginning of
the war of the Uscocchi between Habsburg Austria and the Republic of Venice, to which Palmanova belonged until the fall of Venice (the “Serenissima”) to Napoleon in 1797.
