Aquileia

In the province of Udine, around 40 minutes by car from Trieste, Aquileia is a tranquil, clean city with a population of 3,470 with a history that begins from its foundation as a Roman colony in 181 B.C.; it became a municipality in 89 and went out acquiring major greatness and representation, finally becoming the capital of the Augustan Region X, very important knot for the empire in its relations with the North and East.
Various excavations have allowed for the existence of a notable archaeological patrimony to be established; however, today much is still largely to be investigated. Significant remains are only visible in some zones, but they are not connected to each other by a visitors' route; the most important areas are the Forum, the River Port, and the Burial Ground.
In the Roman Era, the city had a notable artistic and commercial life, as is evidenced in the abundant findings housed in its beautiful Museum, and it remained among the major Italian cities, even resisting the first barbaric invasions until 402, the year in which Attila destroyed it and symbolically scattered salt on its remains.
Afterwards, the Patriarch of Aquileia continued to exist as a political-religious entity that administered a very vast territory, with modern-day Friuli at the center of the area until 1751, in which the ecclesiastical Patriarch was abolished. During this era, the city had a large number of churches, which in the following years were in large part abolished and destroyed. Of the few remaining is, luckily, the Basilica.
The city also boasts a very important National Archaeological Museum with ancient Roman remains.

The Basilica
Built in 313, heavily modified between 1021 and 1031, damaged by an earthquake in 1348 and afterwards restored with Gothic-style interventions and during the Venetian domination, with Renaissance-style interventions. The mighty complex that you visit today presents a Latin-cross layout which extends to the ruins of the Baptistry: the interior has three naves, divided by a re-utilized colonnade, which reached the transept where three apses open that are richly frescoed. Externally, the bell tower stands, constructed like the watch tower; it seems it was constructed with bare materials from the Roman thearter, and the Baptistry is octagonally shaped with the immersion tub inside connected to the principle entrance of the basilica. The mosaics from the 4th century of the flooring of the central nave are particularly interesting.
The mosaic decoration also extends out of the actual church, to the left of the entrance, in part hidden and probably destroyed on the grounds of the bell tower; however, it is in large part in good condition. A truly exemplary museum arrangement was created that allows you to fully enjoy it.
The beauty of the work and symbolic complex, which at the base the figures derive from not just the Christian religion but also from the esoteric and Mithraic traditions; they are worth an in-depth visit. Below you'll find a crypt that is completely frescoed.

The National Archaeological Museum
Inaugurated in 1882 but having undergone a recent remodeling, it is located in the Austrian Villa Cassia Faraone, in the middle of a beautiful garden, rich in century-old plants: the garden is surrounded by a colonnade, which is home to a lavish lapidary. The Archaeological Museum is considered one of the most important in northern Italy and is situated on three levels: on the ground floor you'll find the statutory, the sepulchre portrayals of craftsmen, sacred and ritual bas-reliefs; on the first floor there are gems, terracotta, bronze, glass, money; on the third floor there are findings in amber. You'll be impressed by the beauty and originality of the glass, sculptures, amber, and crystal ornaments. In the lapidary outdoors, there are numerous funeral monuments.