![]() ![]() ![]() After the First World War the whole place was taken by Italy and the previously Austrian port of Trieste became an Italian city. The new border however left the more Slovene parts in the Austrian Empire. Eventually the wars for Italian unification led to the great majority of the region, the Italian parts, joining the Kingdom of Italy in 1866. This border of course remained until 1797 with Napoleon’s destruction of the Venetian Empire and the whole of Friuli-Venezia Giulia was ceded to Austria. This difference was reinforced by Friuli becoming part of the Venetian Republic in 1420 while the former free city states of Trieste and Goriza became part of the Hapsburg Empire at roughly the same time. The cohesion of the area was destroyed by the collapse of the Roman Empire with the Franks and the Lombards settling in the western part of the region while Alpine Slavs made their homes in the eastern part of Friuli near Trieste. Nearby is the amazing ancient Roman city of Aquileia which was the ancient capital of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. This is a culturally rich and varied part of Italy because the outside influences are very strong. I was seriously impressed by what I found and enjoyed the experience very much. It is warm and sunny, but tempered by the winds and sea breezes and the effects of the Isonzo River (the Soča in Slovenia). So basically the whole DOC of Friuli Isonzo is an alluvial plain with the mountains to the north and east, beyond Goriza and Trieste. It is all flat land, the neighbouring DOC of Carso has the mountains and Collio the hills – it even means hills in Italian. It stretches from near Monfalcone – where you find Trieste Airport – to Goriza on the border with Slovenia. This wine region is a Denominazione di Origine Controllata, or DOC – or a PDO in overarching EU parlance – and can be found in the extreme north east of Italy. Recently I visited parts of the Prosecco production area in the Veneto region, but earlier in the year I was part of a study tour of a fascinating wine region called Friuli Isonzo. It’s been quite a year for extending my understanding of Italian wines. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |