The area around the Hotel Restaurant Relais Picaron is surrounded by important and authoritative signs of the past that come alive through historical re-enactments and cultural and recreational events: through these lands Romans, Lombards, Venetians, Habsburg have passed. To devote your free time to excursions and visits throughout the Friulian territory, the Relais Picaron is in a strategic position: we are in fact at the centre of Friuli.
 
The little Siena of Friuli
San Daniele is home to one of the most prestigious libraries in Italy and the oldest in Friuli Venezia Giulia: the Guarneriana Library, which preserves precious illuminated manuscripts.
 
You'll be dazzled by the white of the eighteenth-century Cathedral and by the frescoes of the former Church of St. Antonio Abate, the most beautiful Renaissance cycle of the region, so as to get to San Daniele the nickname of "little Siena of Friuli".
 
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Castles of Upper and Lower Brazzacco
In Moruzzo  two well-preserved ancient manors are worthy of admiration, the Castles of Upper and Lower Brazzacco, which are located a few hundred meters from each other.
 
Both castles belonged to the feudal lords of Savorgnano-Cergneu-Brazzà in the fifteenth century.
 
What remains of the lower castle today is the main tower, the fourteenth-century church of St. Andrew and several rustic outbuildings. The upper castle, perched on a high slope, still has its surrounding wall, the main tower and the captain's quarters.
 
Down below you will find the castellan Church of San Leonardo and Villa Pirzio Brazzà Biroli. The latter was designed by the famous architect Provino Valle and built in 1923 on the site of an earlier building which was destroyed, though currently its rustic side walls still stand.
 
Castle of Colloredo di Monte Albano
From far away one can already see the tower with the clock - very dear to the local people - surrounded by gentle hills.
 
In fact, coming from Udine along the long straight stretch characterised by enchanting ups and downs - made in the sixteenth century for scenographic purposes only - you will see little by little the current outline of the castle, defined "the castle of writers and of storytellers": in fact, the seventeenth-century poet Ermes da Colloredo, the great nineteenth-century writer Ippolito Nievo, (here he wrote Confessioni di un italiano - Confessions of an Italian) and the author and traveller Stanislao Nievo lived and expressed their creativity here. The decorations by Giovanni da Udine, a pupil of Raphael, for the famous small studio of the castle date back to that period: today, one can see interesting fragments with stuccos and paintings depicting zoo-anthropomorphic figures.
 
Castle of Fagagna
In Fagagna, on the hill that overlooks the countryside, the ruins of the castle of Fagagna are still visible.
 
The castle is mentioned when sacked by Emperor Otto II in 983. He donated this fief to the patriarch of Aquileia, Rodoaldo, and it remained under patriarchal domination until the advent of Venice in 1420.

Castle of Ragogna
The Castle of Ragogna (VI-XVIII centuries) is located in a magical and isolated place, surrounded by greenery, on a hill that overlooks the river Tagliamento between Ragogna and Pinzano.


The earliest documents are dated from the 7th century, when Paul Deacon, in his work "Historia Langobardorum", mentioned the Lombard castles involved in the struggle between the Avars and the Lombards in 610.

The following documents about the castle of Ragogna are dated back at the 12th century, at the time of its vassals, the Eppesteins, Dukes of Carinthia.
 
The castle has been restored and, nowadays, hosts various events: visitors can admire the city walls, which originally surrounded the entire hill, some towers and the reconstructed residential Domus (house).


For information and routes:
Tourism Agency FVG Friuli Venezia Giulia www.turismofvg.it
Community Friuli Collinare www.tourismfriulicollinare.it

Or ask information and directions for routes to the staff of our Reception Relais Picaron.