A tour of Gemona and Venzone gives you the chance to feel and touch the brave rise of Friuli after the disastrous earthquake of 1976.

Surrounded by a frame of mountains and morainic hills, Gemona is set in a rich natural environment that invites anyone to a visit. Devastated by the disastrous earthquake in 1976, Gemona is nowadays a symbol of rebirth not only for the town itself, but also for the entire region. We'll visit a town renewed in its architectonic aspect, although you'll be surprised to see how the reconstruction has respected the original splendor in every slightest detail.

Among the ancient medieval monuments that have been wonderfully restored, we'll admire the Town Hall, with its harmonious Renaissance lines in Venetian Lombard taste and the splendid Cathedral, one of the most expressive examples of Gothic-Romanesque architecture existing in the region.

Our tour then continues to Venzone, a charming medieval town that was declared "monument of great historical-artistic interest" by a government decree in 1965. However, like Gemona, the earthquake in 1976 destroyed it almost completely. The rebuilding of Venzone followed a philological method, that's to say that the palaces, walls and houses of the old town have been pieced back together by using the original stones and integrating new ones only when the original ones were completely unusable or destroyed.

In this little town surrounded by imposing mountains we'll admire the 14-th century outer walls and gates, the Venetian-Gothic Palazzo Comunale (Town Hall), located in a beautiful piazza decorated with flowers in the heart of the historical center and the marvelous Cathedral which, along with its imposing Bell Tower, is one of the most remarkable monuments in the region.

But our walk through the narrow streets of this picturesque medieval citadel cannot end without a pause in one of the many cafés or in the characteristic shops selling typical craftwork!