The castle and the Galleria d'arte antica
Castle · paid entry · 46.06441, 13.23607
piazzale Patria del Friuli 1, 33100 Udine (UD)
the patriarchs' castle collapsed in the earthquake of 26 March 1511; today's, more a palace than a fortress, was begun on 2 April 1517 to a design by Giovanni Fontana and continued from 1547 by Giovanni da Udine and Francesco Floreani; it has been a museum since 26 July 1906. On the main floor is the Galleria d'arte antica, the gallery of old masters, thirteen rooms in order of time from the fourteenth to the nineteenth century, which also tell the story of the city: the eighteenth-century views of piazza Contarena, the seventeenth-century bird's-eye plan of Udine, the Madonna della Loggia by Pordenone, paid for in 1516, the altarpiece of the Blood of Christ by Vittore Carpaccio, the Saint Francis receiving the stigmata attributed to Caravaggio, which arrived in 1911, and the canvases by Tiepolo, among them Virtue and Nobility triumphing over Ignorance and the Consilium in arena. In the centre is the Salone del Parlamento, where the parliament of the Patria del Friuli, clergy, nobles and communities, met until 1797: the walls are entirely frescoed by Pomponio Amalteo, Giovanni Battista Grassi and Francesco Floreani, and the frieze on the south wall is by Tiepolo. Until 17 January 2027, in the Aldo Rizzi room, there is Giambattista Tiepolo's Last Judgement, a large canvas of 1730-1747 lent by Intesa Sanpaolo, next to the museum's Tiepolos. On the third floor is the Museo della fotografia, the photography museum, with Friuli in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Civici Musei have a programme of workshops and nights at the museum for families until January 2027, to be booked on 345 2681647
Opening hours according to the Civici Musei, in 2026, Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00, with last entry at 17:30; closed on Mondays, on 1 January, at Easter, on 1 May and on 25 December · according to the Civici Musei, from 1 January 2026, 10 euros, reduced 5 from 18 to 25, over 65 and for residents of Udine; free up to 18 and with the FVGcard. A family with one or two adults and at least one underage child pays the reduced price for everyone. The combined ticket of the Civici Musei, with Casa Cavazzini and the Museo Etnografico, 12 euros; the one of the Musei di Udine, with the Museo Diocesano, 15 euros, valid for seven days · 0432 1272591 · civicimuseiudine.it · biglietterie.civicimusei@comune.udine.it