The city of Udine is located in the centre of the Friulian region. A dozen or so kilometres from both Slovenia and Austria, it is strategically positioned in the crossroads of busy European routes. From a town planning perspective, Udine retains the traditional mark of mediaeval cities. The city was built up around the castle’s hill, its expansion beginning in the 10th Century with five subsequent circles of walls.
The most important period in its history coincides with the reign of the Republic of Venice, la Serenissima, from 1420 to 1797. Amongst the period’s many emblematic architectural remnants are the Lion of Saint Mark and the clock tower similar to the more famous one in St Mark’s Square in Venice.
From the 70s onwards, the historic centre was lit by transparent spheres either mounted on brackets with the characteristic end part in the form of an arch, as is typical in Veneto, or mounted on swan neck lamp posts.
AcegasApsAmga (Hera group), who currently manages the installations, replaced the spheres with ‘Light Nova’, achieving an optimal result in terms of aesthetics, function, comfort and savings. The following images retrace the city, divided by location starting in Via Mercatovecchio, the old heart of the city.
The Loggia del Lionello, a Gothic Venetian public building from the end of the 1400s.
For a thousand years, Udine was crossed by many canals named the ‘Rogge’. The currents of the ‘rogge’ of Udine helped move many machines, generating the first industrial activities. In fact, these canals were home to around fifty large water wheels, which operated some mills and spinning wheels, powering many businesses. There are still traces of them today in the Ledra canal, which skirts the city and along the banks of which the ‘Light Nova’ are installed.
Lastly, ‘Light Nova’ was also mounted on the lamp posts, completing the entire lighting upgrade of the city.