THE CYCLEWAY ACROSS THE TOWNS OF VENETO AND FRIULI

STAGE  7

(Pordenone – Udine, 71 km)

The stage from Pordenone to Udine is an interesting journey through the heart of the Friuli lowlands. The historical region of Friuli, a name derived from the Roman toponym Forum Iulii of Cividale, coincided with the administrative province of Udine until 1968, when its western part on the Tagliamento river’s right bank was turned into the Pordenone province. With a low population density, the area contrasts sharply with Veneto, and is defined by extensive, carefully tended natural and cultivated green areas and by the striking landscapes formed by the wide gravel beds of the streams Meduna and Cellina and of the river Tagliamento, the Magredi. And it is this river above all, the King of alpine rivers, with its blue waters and characteristic interlacing channels threading through the stones of its vast bed, that bisects the journey, giving it a clear sense of anticipation and fulfilment, before and after its long and complex crossing.

From the old town of Pordenone we ride between Town Hall and the Cathedral, onto via della Santissima, and we cross the Adam and Eve bridge on the Noncello (km 0.2).

We thus cross the Flu municipal park, then (km 0.3) turn right into an unpaved parking lot, at the end of which we ride through a small wooded area. After that (km 0.5), you cross carefully viale delle Grazie and continue on the frontage road on the other side. Immediately after the railway underpass (km 0.7) you turn left into a small street, then continue along the railway tracks. At the end of the street (km 1.1) turn right, then right again into via Vecchia di Corva until you come to via Nuova di Corva (km 1.5), which you cross using the pedestrian and cycle crossing to reach the bike path on the other side. You then ride for quite a while on a segregated bike path next to the SR251 regional road, until the bridge on the Meduna (km 4.9), which you should cross with care. Immediately after the bridge, in the hamlet of Corva, municipality of Azzano Decimo, you turn left into via Passo (km 5.0), then left again into via Vallon, after which you will be riding in a serene countryside setting. At km 7.4 you pass over the A28 Pordenone-Portogruaro motorway, at km 9.2 you cross the SP60 provincial road and go straight on via Bassi. At km 10.0 you pass under a motorway interchange from Spilimbergo and Sequals; turn right immediately after (km 10.6), into via Maino and the town of Fiume Veneto. At the crossroads with via Giovanni XXIII (km 11.3) turn left then right into via Zol and via Borgo Venezia, continue left and onto viale della Repubblica. Here (km 11.9) use the pedestrian and bike crossing to cross the road, cross the bridge on the river Fiume (which indeed means river!) and ride on the fine bike path on its left bank.

At km 12.2 leave the embankment, ride around the sports hall and continue on via San Francesco. At the next crossroads (km 12.4) you turn left onto the SP47 Provincial Road until the hamlet of Pescincanna, and at km 14.3 you arrive at the junction with via Tomat in front of the San Michele Arcangelo parish church. Ride around the church on the right side, then immediately turn right.

At the next junction with via Formentini (km 14.5) you turn left, then go straight at the junction with the SP6 Provincial Road (km 15.0). After that, go straight on via Petrarca; at km 15.9 you pass under the railway tracks and come out in the industrial estate of Orcenico Inferiore, then continue right on via Villafranca along the tracks. Continue on via Fontana to the centre of town, where there is a convenient drinking fountain next to the pavement (km 17.6). You will then come out on the SS13 Pontebbana State Road, which you leave immediately by turning right into via Sile, through the vineyards. After another railway underpass (km 18.3) you will enter the hamlet of Sile in the municipality of Casarsa della Delizia, the birthplace of the great intellectual, poet and film director Pier Paolo Pasolini. After 300 m you will find another excellent drinking fountain, further evidence of the region’s water richness, indicating that we are in the area of the springheads of the Friulian Sile river. At km 21.4 you leave via Sile and turn right in the hamlet of San Giovanni di Casarsa into via Monte Santo, then left into via Runcis, going past the railway station on the Casarsa-Portogruaro line and through a level crossing. At km 22.2 you cross the SP1 Provincial Road, go around the church on the left, then turn left at the crossroads (km 22.4) and left again into via Versutta. At km 23.9 you arrive in Versutta near the notable shrine of Sant’Antonio Abate (14th century), one of the stops on Pasolini's Itineraries.

Turn left immediately after the shrine on an unpaved section, which ends at km 24.7 at the junction with via Spinis, where you turn left. At the next junction with via Armentarezze (km 25.1), if you continue left then right you arrive in Casarsa della Delizia, where there is a train station on the Pordenone-Udine line. However, our itinerary goes right, then at the crossroads with viale dei Comunali (26.4 km) you turn left, then right onto a country lane that soon turns to gravel. After a sharp bend left, you turn right (km 27.2), first crossing and then riding along the railway tracks of the industrial estate on your right (km 27.5). Continue around the industrial estate, and the gravel path turns to tarmac again. At the crossroads (km 28.5) continue right on via Lusevera, then turn left on a gravel path which continues on the left outside the roundabout. Continue on this path until the pedestrian and cycle underpass (km 29.3) of the ponte della Delizia bridge over the river Tagliamento. At the next junction (km 29.6) the gravel path ends, and a left turn leads onto the long bridge, which requires caution but rewards you with striking views of the river’s wide gravel bed.

Once on the other side, you very soon turn right onto a gravel track (km 31.7); just after a railway underpass (km 32.3) you turn right again onto the paved embankment road (km 32.8), riding in a lovely rural setting until km 33.7, when you turn left. You have now arrived in Biauzzo, a hamlet in the municipality of Codroipo (km 35.0); you soon turn right (km 35.5) into via San Vidotto, then left (km 36.2) into via Catocchie, then turn right (km 38.2) on a very pleasantly shaded gravel path. Eventually you will come to a roundabout (km 39.3): turn left and you will soon be in piazza Garibaldi (km 40.0), the very heart of Codroipo, whose Roman toponym Quadruvium derives from its location at the crossroads of the via Postumia and the via Iulia Augusta.

Should you need to take a train, go straight on and you will get to the railway station on the Pordenone-Udine line. However, we continue on the right on via Roma, then turn right again (40.5 km) on via XXIV Maggio, and take the bike path on the left side of the road.

The pleasant stretch of tree-lined, segregated bike path ends at km 42.8, in the hamlet of Passariano, and after some 300 m you enter the grounds of the magnificent Villa Manin, which thanks to its architectural elegance, lavish ornamentation, and extensive parkland, is considered one of northern Italy’s foremost noble mansions.

Upon leaving the grounds of the villa you turn left into via Rivolto (km 43.4), and ride on a bike path until the hamlet of Rivolto. You go through the hamlet on its thoroughfare, via Santa Cecilia, then turn right into via Villacaccia (km 44.7).

After carefully crossing regional road SR252 (km 45.0) you ride on a fine gravel path in the countryside until km 47.7, when you come out on the SP61 provincial road. Turn left and you will soon arrive in Villacaccia, where you turn left (km 48.7) into via Fiume, then right into via Pio Paschini (km 49.1), just before the cemetery. Here you will be riding on another very pleasant gravel section, in the lush and scenic countryside, past the Rivolto airbase, until you come out on the SS13 Pontebbana State Road (km 51.8).

Cross the state road with caution, and you will enter the hamlet of Basagliapenta. Continue on via Tiepolo, turn left then right (km 54.3) into via Mistruzzi, where tarmac soon gives way to gravel again on another pleasant stretch, first along the railway tracks, then passing under them (km 53.9) and eventually leading to Basiliano (km 54.8), where there is also a railway station.

You go through the piazza with the Town Hall and parish church (km 55.5), then continue on via Battisti, turn left at the traffic lights, and take the bike path on viale Carnia. After some 700 m (km 56.2) turn right into via Maggiore, which continues on the right into via San Leonardo (km 57.0), through the hamlet of Variano. At the next junction (km 57.2) continue to via Trieste, then turn left into via Bressa (km 57.6) which soon turns into a gravel track through a pleasant wooded area. At km 58.9 the gravel gives way to tarmac again and you come to Bressa; at the junction in the hamlet (km 59.8) turn left towards Colloredo di Prato, where you turn right (km 61.8) and go through via di Sotto, until you come out on the SP52 Provincial Road (km 62.4). At km 63.2 take the segregated bike path on the other side of the road, until it ends at km 65.1 at the cemetery of Pasian di Prato: here, turn left into via dei Cipressi, then right into via Muris. At the junction with via Passons (km 65.6) turn left, then right into via Fratelli Cairoli and via Franco Missio. At the next junction with via Leonardo da Vinci (km 66.2), take the bike path on the left side, then before the next roundabout (km 66.7), turn right into via Cormor Basso.

After passing under the A23 motorway for Tarvisio (km 67.3) you have now entered the municipal boundaries of Udine, the regional capital, which took up the baton of Friuli's head town, first from Aquileia, then from Cividale. Continue on the main road (via Cormor Alto), until you turn left at km 68.9 into via del Tiro a Segno; turn right into viale Firenze in front of the cemetery of San Vito, then turn left (km 69.1) into via Mentana. At km 69.7, in the town's very centre, you turn right into via Luigi Moretti, then left (km 69.9) into via Anna Muratti Moretti and right into viale del Ledra. At km 70.2 you come to the roundabout of piazzale XXVI Luglio, turn left into via Poscolle then continue in via Cavour until you arrive in the town's monumental heart, piazza della Libertà (km 71.0).

(Text and photos taken from the AIDA EST guidebook, Ediciclo 2020)