Farra d'Isonzo (; ; ; Southeastern Friulian: ) is a (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Gorizia in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

region of

Friuli-Venezia Giulia Friuli-Venezia Giulia () is one of the 20 regions of Italy and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The regional capital is Trieste on the Gulf of Trieste, a bay of the Adriatic Sea. Friuli-Venezia Giulia has an area of and a ...

History

The name "Farra" is of Lombard origin, and derives from "''Fara''", meaning "a stronghold held by individual families or clans". The

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

later had a "''

statio A statio (Latin for "position" or "location") is the place where, in the Roman Rite, a devotion to the stations of the Cross is celebrated. On specific station days, on which in the Late Roman Catholic liturgy of the Late Antiquity a devotion ...

''"—or courier relay point—here, near which they built a bulky bridge on the Isonzo River in a place called Mainizza to improve communications with the eastern territories. It was on this strategic bridge that the

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

, the

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths () were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Western Roman Empire, drawing upon the large Gothic populatio ...

, the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

, the Avari, the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

, the

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

and the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...

would later pass to invade the empire.

Economy

Today Farra is still a thriving center for the numerous

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s that cover its vast territory. The old agricultural features of the landscape can still be seen in the urban layout of the locality, that includes numerous villages and the two smaller towns of Mainizza and Villanova.

Main sights

The palace of Calice (1728) stands out next to the modern buildings that were rebuilt after the war. It is the administrative seat of the ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' and housed important landowners' villas. An intense and lively cultural life has developed here, and there are numerous institutions like the centre dedicated the poet Riccardo Pitteri, who wrote about this country and chose it as a summer resort. There is also a retirement home, and in Borgo Grotta there is a museum documenting the agricultural society of the region of

Friuli Friuli (; ; or ; ; ) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autono ...

. In Borgo Zuppini stands the 17th-century Church of the Immaculate Conception, built by Count Giovanni Battista Zuppini between 1665 and 1669. It is the oldest church in the archidiocese named after the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...

Observatory

The Farra d'Isonzo Observatory (, obs.code: 595), where

minor planets According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...

have been discovered, and a town library are among the other facilities found there. For several years there has been a renowned musical academy here, promoting an annual chamber music competition for young musicians of the

Alpe-Adria Alpe-Adria is a bioregion in Central Europe, embracing all of Slovenia, the Austrian states of Carinthia and Styria, and the Italian regions of Friuli-Venezia-Giulia and Veneto. , it is the subject of a proposal to create the world's first organi ...

, and various concerts are held in the splendid chamber of the parochial oratory. Among other music is the "''Gruppo Vocale''", a men's choir of recent origin, but already boasting an impressive series of successes with its repertory of classical, popular and religious music.

References

External links

Circolo Culturale Astronomico di Farra d'Isonzo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farra D'isonzo Cities and towns in Friuli-Venezia Giulia