Friuli

Friuli (Ger. Friul, Lat. Forum Julii), the name of a district formerly governed by independent dukes, lying at the head of the Gulf of Venice. With a total population of about 700,000, and a total area of some 3470 sq. m., it is divided between Austrian Friuli, embracing the districts of Görz, Gradisca, and Idria, and Italian Friuli, including the province of Udine and the district of Portogruaro. Friuli is rich in corn and wine, and has much metallic wealth and numerous mineral springs. The inhabitants, called Furlani, are mostly Italians, some of them speaking a peculiar dialect containing several Celtic elements. Friuli constituted one of the thirty-six duchies into which the Lombards divided the north of Italy, and shared the vicissitudes of its neighbour states.