122 IRELAND’S BIGGEST-SELLING GOLF MAGAZINE

LA NOSTRABELLA

FRIULIVENEZIAGIULIA

it ’s where joyce

found inspiration

for many of his

greatest novels,

friuli venezia giulia

is rich in gastronomy,

arts and culture,

and it ’s also a fantastic

place to play golf

Photograph by Villaverde Resort

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rooms – the Bistrot Il Gusto di Casanova with culinary excellence of the region, La Tavernetta al Castello, a gourmet restau-rant with 10 rooms and the Country Inn Boatina with 5 rooms and a restaurant.

Head towards the coast and you will find Golf Club Grado, which overlooks Grado Lagoon with its herons, wild swans, flamingos and other fauna. An 18-hole Championship Par 72 course, water comes into play on several holes. It is an enchant-ing natural landscape that will challenge and fascinate all types of golfer.

Perfect for a summer retreat, the club house features a gourmet restaurant “al Casone”, built in the typical style of the huts in the lagoon, where international and local specialities await. Suite apart-

ments, bungalows, garden cottages can all be rented for a “Stay & Play” for up to seven consecutive days of unlimited golf or for an 18-hole special green fee rate.

Grado is an ideal spot for beach holi-days and is known as the ‘golden island’ for its clean water and the beauty of its lagoon. The old city centre of Grado is also fascinating, with its share of decorated early Christian churches, where a Venetian style is typical of the city.

Further west is Golf Club Lignano, only a stone’s throw from the sea and in the well-known beach resort of Lignano Sab-biadoro. A well-maintained course with excellent facilities, it features a spacious and comfortable clubhouse with a pleasant external dining room of the restaurant and bar in warmer months.

Directly on the course, the Hotel Golf Inn with 26 rooms overlooks the course and wellness and beauty centre.

Golf Club Senza Confini Tarvisio, origi-nally a nine-hole course designed by Gia-como Cabrini, has recently been restyled by well-known architect Marco Croze.

It is located on the plateau of Priesnig,

The great writer James Joyce wrote A Por-trait of the Artist as a Young Man, most of The Dubliners and the outline of Ulysses in Trieste, where he spent 15 fruitful years.

Trieste, in that time, was an intellectu-ally challenging, melting pot of peoples and cultures, and a cauldron for the in-cubation of new ideas. It left an everlast-ing impression on Joyce, who wrote: “La Nostra bella Trieste! I long to see the lights twinkling along the Rive as the train passes Miramare. Why is it I am destined to look so many times in my life with my eyes of longing on Trieste?”

That joie de vivre in Trieste survives today and the city has been described as being ‘the centre of Europe’, connecting the Mediterranean to Central and Eastern Eu-

rope for hundreds of years, as well as being at the forefront of the world’s coffee trade.

Indeed, one can enjoy a coffee in Caffe Rossini’s floating deck, where stands a bronze statue of Joyce with a book under his arm.

Just outside the city is Trieste Golf Club, the first golf club to open in the Friuli Vene-zia Giulia region. Created by British and American members of the Allied Military Administration immediately after the end of the Second World War, play began there in 1955. The course is splendidly located at only eight kilometres from the city centre.

At a height of 350 metres, the course offers magnificent views over the Gulf of Trieste, extending from the Grado and Lig-nano lagoons to the Istrian coast. With a

rugged karst landscape on one side and the sea on the other, Trieste Golf Club provides a challenging test for all levels of golfer, while preserving the charm of the unspoilt natural environment.

It’s one of seven 18-hole golf courses in the region, located not far from one anoth-er and offering a wide range of landscapes.

Located close to Trieste is Golf & Country Club Castello di Spessa Resort, not far from the culturally significant town of Gorizia.

Constructed in 2004 by architect Gia-como Cabrini, the course winds along the famous vineyards of the Friuli Venezia Gi-ulia region. Suitable for golf all year round, this course set in the heart of the Collio’s hills features a thirteenth-century castle. It has been converted into a hotel with 15

it left an everlasting impression on joyce,who wrote: “la nostra bella trieste! i longto see the lights twinkling along the riveas the train passes miramare. why is it iam destined to look so many times in my lifewith my eyes of longing on trieste?”

region where outside one of the famous cafés of its capital is a statue of one of our greatest Irishmen, Friuli Venezia Giulia has

plenty in common with Ireland � The inhabitants of Italy’s most north-easterly region, like the Irish, enjoy a good time,

and that often comes by playing on great golf courses � Bordering Austria to the north and Slovenia to the east

with the Adriatic Sea to its south, the Friuli Venezia Giulia region has everything: from the sea, mountains

and hills to great food and wine � Several top golf courses are accessible within an hour’s drive of Trieste airport, reachable by a connected flight from Dublin.

a green oasis set among rolling hills and rocky mountains. Located by the thou-sand-year-old Tarvisio Forest, it offers two very different nines.

The first nine holes winds its way over challenging terrain amidst the splendid Tarvisio forest, while the closing nine is flatter and includes a number of water hazards and well-protected greens that will test the most accomplished players.

The surrounding trees, impressive Mount Mangart and blue sky create reflec-tions in the nearby lake. Stunning views lead North to Austria and Slovenia and to the Valcanale in the South.

After your game you can indulge your-self at “Ristorante Ilija” since 2017 included in the Italian gourmet magazine “Guida Michelin”. The chef, a passionate golfer, is also member of “Ristogolf” an associa-tion gathering top Italian chefs that love to combine passion for golf and gourmet

Golf Club Udine was established in 1972 and over the years, architects Mar-co Croze and John Harrison completed work on a nine-hole course, increasing it to 18 holes. The course is now owned

Golf Lignano Club House | Photograph by Davide Carbone Golf Udine | Photograph by Villaverde Resort

Castello Di Spessa | Photograph by Costacurta Laura

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and charm, as is Spilimbergo for its world-famous International School of Mosaics.

There are few places with better cui-sine than Italy and Friuli Venezia Giulia has some of the best food and wine in the country for a tasty post-round meal. One of the most developed regions in Italy, its specialised farming sees the area pro-duce fruit, vegetables and cheese, as well as high-quality cured hams, wines and salami that are known around the world.

The cooking traditions of Friuli Venezia

Giulia are influenced by Slavic and Vene-tian culture and relies of simple recipes and genuine ingredients of meat, dairy, sausages and legumes.

Some typical dishes of the area are po-lenta, ‘porcina’, made with boiled pork meat and sausages served with horseradish and mustards and a famous regional dessert called gubana, which is a shell of pastry stuffed with dried fruit. Products that come from the region that are exported world-wide include Prosciutto of San Daniele, Montasio cheese and Sauris smoked ham.

The tasty traditional dishes of the area are accompanied by a rich production of high-quality white and red wines, like Refosco, Terrano, Malvasia, Tocai and Ribolla Gialla. It is also renowned for its distillates, including traditional and fla-voured grappas.

Deliciously wild landscapes, cultured cities, great food and great golf, Friuli Venezia Giulia is the perfect place for your golfing holiday this year.

named Gorizia “The Nice of the Adriatic” and were attracted by the charm and the climate. The border town is a meeting place of culture, with its elegant architec-ture tracing back to the Habsburg royalty and their long dominion.

The town’s rich and diversified artis-tic heritage can be seen in the Medieval Castle with its charming small village. The modern Piazza Transalpina has a symbolic value, representing the coexistence of two cities and overcoming of conflicts.

Udine is considered the city of Tiepolo, given that it preserves many of his own masterpieces and some of these include the frescoes that decorate the Duomo, the Arch-bishop’s Palace and the Oratory della Puritá.

The sumptuous Udine Castle is the site of the Civic Museums, comprising the Archaeological Museum, the Draw-ings and Prints Gallery, the Museum of Photography, the Photographic Archive and the Ancient Art Gallery, with precious paintings from the 1500s to 1800s.

The Province of Udine also includes the Cividale del Friuli, a town in the foothills of the eastern Alps, where the Lombard itin-erary in Cividale is a World Heritage site of Unesco. The city preserves remarkable Lombard evidence, the Tempietto (small temple) is one of the most extraordinary and mysterious early medieval construc-tions in the western world.

Pordenone is lined with handsome his-torical buildings, such as Palazzo Mantica-Cattaneo and Palazzo Ricchieri. Its old city centre is well-preserved, and complete with an impressive Palazzo Comunale and clock tower.

There are many small towns and villages near Pordenone that are worth visiting such as Valvasone, a member of the “Italy’s most beautiful villages” club, thanks to the excel-lent state of conservation of the historic centre of the village, which boasts a number of elegant dwellings dating to between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries.

The age-old village at Sesto al Reghena is outstanding, with its surrounding envi-ronment known for its karst springs, beauty

for more information:

PromoTurismoFVG

website: www.turismofvg.it

tel: +39 0431 387 130

e-mail: info@promoturismo.fvg.it

for hotel and tee-time bookings:

civado golf

website: www.civadogolf.com

tel: +39 040 3789 382/380

e-mail: info@civadogolf.com

Golf Udine | Photograph by Villaverde Resort

by the new Villaverde Hotel & Resort Wellness Spa & Golf, which opened in February 2016.

Significant work has been done to make it one of the best courses in southern Eu-rope and worthy of international competi-tion. In October 2016, Stephen Dodd held his nerve to win the Senior Italian Open Presented by Villaverde Resort on the Eu-ropean Senior Tour, where he beat former Ryder Cup players like Philip Price, Des Smyth and Barry Lane. With a prize fund of €350,000, it was a successful staging on this par 72 layout. It will host the Senior Italian Open again this year from September 8-10.

The course is protected by centuries-old oak trees, the light shade of wild cherry and alder trees, where the course follows the curves of the hills, treating players to some majestic views.

As part of the revamp of the resort, a practice area spread over 33,000 square metres has two structures, one for the long game and one for the short game, that allows for up 35 players to play simulta-neously. It also includes the Villaverde In-stitute of Performance, which allows guest to train like Tour Professionals, and allows PGA Professionals to bring their clients to the ultimate golf training experience.

Finally, Golf Club Castel d’Aviano is a par 72, covering an area of 55 hectares and is open all year round. Located inside the prestigious Natural Park of the sixteenth-century Villa Policreti, it’s now run as an

exclusive hotel which houses a renowned restaurant as well as the club house over-looking the golf course.

Not a long course at 6000 metres, it still provides a challenge thanks the presence of natural and artificial obstacles that are strategically placed.

There’s so much more than golf to do while you stay in Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of the five autonomous regions of Italy. A region of 1.2 million inhabitants roughly the size of County Cork, it offers a wide variety of holiday options.

In the North, the mountainous terrain at the ending section of the Alps offers the opportunity for skiing, where thanks to modern installations and extensive net-works of trails and runs, it is possible to practice skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, ice skating, hiking and

even dog sledding. Only a half hour trip from Golf Club

Udine you’ll find the Carnia Mountain area which is formed of seven valleys, through each of them runs a stream. This area is at one with nature with its woods, waterfalls, canyons and mountain lakes. Ravascletto-Zoncolan, which extends up the Mount Zoncolan, is one of the many attractive tourist destinations for ski trips in the re-gion. Among vast pine forests and moun-tain lakes, the mountain is famous for being one of the most demanding climbs of the Giro d’Italia cycling race.

The picturesque Friulian Dolomites are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but if you would like a more relaxing time than trekking after your round of golf, another UNESCO site may take your fancy. One of the most impressive towns in the region

one of the most developed regions in italy,its specialised farming sees the area producefruit, vegetables and cheese, as well ashigh-quality cured hams , wines and salamithat are known around the world

is the ancient Aquileia, one of the most important towns of the Roman Empire. With plentiful early Christian art to enjoy, it is rich in vestiges from the forum to the ruins of the river port and basilica.

In fact, the urban centres of Friuli Venezia Giulia are bursting with culture and the arts as one can follow in the foot-steps of the region that so enchanted James Joyce.

Trieste, with its old cafés, neoclassi-cal buildings along the Grand Canal and other monuments, are well worth visiting. But don’t forget also the cosmopolitan Gorizia, the charming Udine, and the quaint Pordenone.

Adjacent to Slovenia and Austria, Go-rizia breathes Central European air and spirits and is the meeting place of several nationalities, where the Habsburg royalty

Golf Lignano Buca | Photograph by Claudio Scaccini