Landmark
Ponte del Diavolo & the Natisone gorge
Cividale del Friuli · Friuli-Venezia Giulia
QUICK INFORMATION
- CATEGORY
- Landmark
- COUNTRY
- Italy
- REGION
- Cividale del Friuli · Friuli-Venezia Giulia
- DURATION
- 1–2 days
ABOUT THIS ATTRACTION
Every town has a postcard, Cividale’s is the Devil’s Bridge: a high humpback of stone leaping the gorge where the Natisone runs green and rapid fifty metres below, with the old town’s houses stacked above. The view from mid-span — down the churning pot-holes, across to the canyon walls — is the best free sight in town, and the view of the bridge from the riverside walk is the town’s signature photograph. The legend explains its swift construction: the Devil agreed to build it overnight in exchange for the soul of the first to cross, and the wily Cividalesi sent a cat across first.
HISTORY & BACKGROUND
The story behind it
A bridge has crossed here since Roman times; the great humpback was raised in the 15th century, destroyed by retreating forces in the First World War, and rebuilt in the 1920s to the original profile. The Natisone gorge itself is a caving and bouldering landmark — the river sinks into karst caves upstream and emerges in the canyon below town, one of the classic underground rivers of the Julian Alps’ margin.
WHAT TO SEE
What to see here
The mid-span view down the emerald gorge.
The bridge itself from the riverside path — the classic shot.
The anonymous door by the bridge that descends to the Celtic Hypogeum.
Kayakers and the gorge swimming holes in summer.
WHY IT MATTERS
Why it matters
The bridge is Cividale’s identity — geography, legend and photograph in one — and the gorge below is a wild river canyon inside a small town.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before you go
MAP & LOCATION
Ponte del Diavolo & the Natisone gorge
Ponte del Diavolo & the Natisone gorge, Cividale del Friuli, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
46.0947, 13.4349
MORE ATTRACTIONS
More to see in Cividale del Friuli
FOOD & DRINK
Where to eat nearby
Trattoria under the arcades of Corso Paolino d’Aquileia — Natisone trout and frico
Pasticceria on Piazza del Duomo — the gubana, the town’s own pastry
Osterie of the Natisone valleys — barley soup and smoked pork in bilingual villages
HOTELS & STAYS
Where to stay nearby
Historic-centre B&Bs and rooms in the old town’s palazzi
Agriturismi among the Colli Orientali vineyards — stay at the winery
Udine as the rail-connected base — Cividale is 24 minutes away by train
ITINERARIES
Day-by-day routes
NEARBY DESTINATIONS
Continue the journey
INTERESTS
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PART OF
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