The Castle

Il Castello CanussioCanussio Castle, now restored to its ancient beauty, is located in the northern area of the city and plays an important role in brining back the Forum Iulii historical wall structure, which was build by Julius Caesar in the middle of 1st Century circa. He had chosen this city for its captivating geographical location, at the centre of an important crossroad. The Castle, which is considered the biggest of a wider architectural complex of the Late Antiquity era ( 5th-6th Century circa), belonged to the Canussion Family from the 12th to the 19th century, who sold it and then bought it back 100 years later. The archaeological excavations, initiated by the Canussio Family and under the direction of Friuli Venezia Giulia Region’s Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage, were carried out on multiple occasions from 1991 to 2000. They brought to light the 60 meters of Roman city walls structure, fortified to defend the city, which can be see in the internal rooms of the Castle through glass panes installed on the floors and

Outdoor garden. The first and oldest curtain wall is the innermost one, featuring a quadrangular tower which recent studies attribute to the Late Republican era (1st century BC). For the subsequent reinforcement of the walls, with the addition of two polygonal towers, a dating of the 4th–5th century is proposed. This was a period when Cividale acquired a renewed strategic role, leading it to become the caput Venetiae (capital of the X Regio Venetia et Histria) mentioned by Paul the Deacon. Archaeological investigations have also yielded a large quantity of Roman and Renaissance artifacts (ceramics, glassware, and metalwork), now held at the National Archaeological Museum of Cividale. A significant portion of this material—approximately 500 artifacts—has been used to set up an educational exhibition in the rooms of the city museum.

The Castle is currently the Headquarters of the illustrious “Niccolò Canussio”, an internationally connected Scientific Research Institute for the Antiquity World, dedicated to “Nicolo’ Canussio”, renowned humanist and historian of Cividale of the 14th century. Author of “De Restituzione Patriae”, he wrote this book to defend the millennial accounts of Cividale city that helped it harbour one of the first universities in Italy.