Friulia Venezia Giulia

With Friuli being at the North-East border of Italy , there comes many different cultural influences coming into the country. The east border of Friuli is shared with Slovenia, which shows its characteristics in the food of Friuli through the many different spices that are used. To the North, Austria shares its border as well, bringing in a strong Germanic Culture.

During the Time of the Romans, Friuli was used as a major sea port that was used in terms of trading and fishing. This helped to expand the trade-routes of the Empire, as it opened up the North-East region for trade.

Along with trading, came the wine making, as the region has everything that is necessary to make good wines, such as climate and soil. In terms of Grapes, the Altri grape, which grows well on hills, was cultivated and used to make many different deep-red wines, such as Amarone. Along with the Altri, comes the Picolit grape, which is a very hard to get, as the grapes only grow in small batches.

In terms of the Cuisine of Friuli, it is very rich in both culture an flavor. Since the Region shares 2/3 borders with outside cultures, we see many different influences on the food other than just Italian. Many of these influences come in the shape of the spices that are used, rather than just the food. Others, however, show up in the form of food Items that don't really correspond with normal Italian Cooking. Take the Goulash alla Triestina, a stewed-meat dish that comes from Slovenia, which shows both influences in terms of spice and food.