The ancient medieval borgo of Strassoldo is a hamlet of Cervignano del Friuli (Udine) and one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. Today the extremely well-preserved monumental complex appears in its 18th-century guise, divided into Castello di Sotto and Castello di Sopra, while still providing a glimpse of the original conformation of the ancient manor built for defence and attack.
A so-called "water castle", it still belongs to the family that built it more than a thousand years ago: the Counts of Strassoldo. The main complex can be accessed from the Church of St. Nicolò in the Borgo Vecchio after a walk from the ancient Cistigna gate. It is surrounded by buildings once used for agricultural purposes: artisans' houses, granaries, the storehouse. Further on, beyond a rice mill, is the area of Castello di Sotto. It is furnished with antiques and ancestral portraits, creating an atmosphere of uninterrupted history.
The Castle of Strassoldo di Sopra, like the adjacent manor of Sotto, is surrounded by a centuries-old park, crossed by crystalline spring streams. Created at the end of the 17th century when the defensive function of the complex was no longer paramount, the park is filled with a wealth of decorative elements, wells, statues and an orangery with mighty columns. On the perimeter of the garden is a collection of centuries-old trees, planted alongside tall contemporary plants, a majestic three-hundred-year-old magnolia grandiflora and numerous taxus baccata plants. The many flowerbeds of the gardens are filled with ancient tea roses, English roses, camellias and hydrangeas.
Friuli Venezia Giulia Film Commission
Piazza Duca degli Abruzzi 3 — 34132 Trieste
Phone: +39 040 3720142
Email: filmcommission@promoturismo.fvg.it
