Aquileia: Friuli's Little Rome, Where Palaeochristian Mosaics Meet a Lost Forum

Aquileia: when Friuli was the centre of the world

Today Aquileia is a quiet town of a few thousand inhabitants, set in the Friulian plain among vineyards and maize fields. But beneath this apparent stillness lies one of the most important cities of the Roman Empire: fourth in Italy by population, a crucial river port, a commercial crossroads between the Mediterranean and the Danube. Founded in 181 BC as a Latin colony, Aquileia became the capital of the Augustan X Regio and, with the advent of Christianity, the seat of a patriarchate that rivalled Rome itself. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998, it remains one of the most underrated archaeological sites in Europe.

What to see in Aquileia

The Patriarchal Basilica and the mosaics

The Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta is the primary reason to come to Aquileia, and it does not disappoint. Beneath the nave floor stretches the largest palaeochristian mosaic in the Western world: 760 square metres of polychrome tesserae from the fourth century, depicting biblical stories, fishing scenes, a combat between a cockerel and a tortoise (an allegory of the struggle between light and darkness) and an extraordinary representation of Jonah swallowed by the whale. The colours are vivid, the details minute, and walking along the glass walkways suspended above the mosaic is a breathtaking experience. Do not miss the crypt of Romanesque frescoes and the crypt of excavations, where overlapping layers of floors reveal two thousand years of stratigraphy.

The Roman Forum

A few steps from the basilica, the Roman Forum extends along the Via Sacra, flanked by reassembled columns. It lacks the monumentality of Rome's forums, but its setting — among cypresses, lawns and the silence of the countryside — lends it a contemplative atmosphere that more celebrated forums have long since lost. At the far end of the street, the river port on the Natissa comes into view, where Roman ships once sailed upstream from the sea to trade in amber, wine and garum.

The National Archaeological Museum

One of the most important archaeological museums in northern Italy, with a collection of engraved gems, worked amber, blown glass and funerary portraits that bring the daily life of a great Roman city to light. The section dedicated to the river port, with anchors and parts of vessels, is particularly evocative. Temporary exhibitions, often of international standard and rarely publicised, are not to be missed.

The necropolis and the external archaeological areas

Along the road toward Grado, the Roman necropolis lines up funerary steles, altars and tomb enclosures of patrician families. It is a place of great atmospheric power, set in greenery, where inscriptions recall merchants, veterans and matrons from twenty centuries ago. In the surrounding fields, ongoing excavations continue to yield mosaics and structures — Aquileia has been excavated over only ten per cent of its original extent.

What to eat in Aquileia

The local cuisine combines Friulian tradition with the proximity of the sea and the lagoon:

• Boreto alla graisana — a lagoon fish soup typical of Grado, arriving here at its freshest
• Prosciutto di San Daniele — the great Friulian cured ham, often served with figs or breadsticks
• Frico with polenta — the classic Friulian pairing, substantial and comforting
• DOC Aquileia wines — the area has its own denomination with Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, Friulano and Malvasia: little-known but excellent wines

Trattorie along Via Sacra and in Piazza Capitolo serve menus of local produce with a quality-to-price ratio that would be unthinkable elsewhere.

How to get there

Aquileia is 40 km from Udine and 35 km from Trieste, reached by car via the A4 motorway (Palmanova exit) and then the SS352. It has no railway station of its own, but nearby Cervignano del Friuli (10 km) is served by the Venice–Trieste line. From Cervignano, a bus or taxi brings you to Aquileia in fifteen minutes. By bicycle, Aquileia is connected to Grado by a flat 10-km cycle path crossing the lagoon — one of Friuli's most beautiful routes.

When to go

Spring and autumn are the best periods: golden light, mild temperatures, few visitors. Summer is hot and the plain can be sweltering, but the proximity of the sea (Grado is 10 km away) allows you to combine archaeology and beach. Winter is quiet and misty — the mist wrapping around the forum columns creates a cinematic atmosphere, but check the museum's reduced hours. The basilica is open year-round.

In the surrounding area

From Aquileia you can easily reach Grado (10 km, with its lagoon and beaches), Palmanova (15 km) and the Isonzo River Mouth Nature Reserve, a paradise for birdwatchers with flamingos and herons.