Udine (US: /ˈuːdiːneɪ/ OO-dee-nay;[3][4] Italian: [ˈuːdine] ⓘ; Friulian: Udin; Latin: Utinum; Slovene: Videm) is a city and comune (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Carnic Alps.

It has been tentatively suggested that the name may be of pre-Roman origin, connected with the Indo-European root *ou̯dh- 'udder' used in a figurative sense to mean 'hill'.

In AD 983 Udine was mentioned for the first time, with the donation of the Utinum castle by emperor Otto II to the Patriarchs of Aquileia, then the main feudal lords of the region.

[9] In 1223, with the foundation of the market,[10] the city became finally the most important in the area for economy and trade, and also became the Patriarch's seat.

After September 8, 1943, when Italy surrendered to the Allies in World War II, the city was under direct German administration, which ceased in April 1945.

[18][19] The old residence of the patriarchs of Aquileia, the palazzo Patriarcale, was erected by Giovanni Fontana[citation needed] in 1517 in place of the older one destroyed by an earthquake in 1511.

A recension of the Visigothic code of laws, called the Breviary of Alaric, was formerly preserved In the cathedral archives, in a manuscript known as the Codex Utinensis, which was printed before it was lost.

The church dedicated to St. Mary of the Castle is probably the oldest in Udine, judging from extant fragments dating back to the Lombard era.

In the principal square (Piazza della Libertà) stands the town hall (Loggia del Lionello) built in 1448–1457 in the Venetian-Gothic style opposite a clock tower (Torre dell'Orologio) resembling that of the Piazza San Marco at Venice.

[20] The Cathedral of Udine is an imposing edifice whose construction started in 1236, on a Latin cross-shaped plan with three naves and chapels along the sides.

At the beginning of the 18th century, a radical transformation project involving both the exterior and the interior was undertaken at the request and expense of the Manin family.

The Baroque interior has monumental dimensions and contains many works of art by Tiepolo, Amalteo, and Ludovico Dorigny.

On the ground floor of the bell tower (built from 1441 over the ancient baptistry) is a chapel which is completely adorned with frescoes by Vitale da Bologna (1349).

The centre of Udine is dominated by the castle, built by the Venetians from 1517 over a Lombard fortification ruined by an earthquake in 1511.

The current Renaissance appearance dates from the intervention of Giovanni da Udine, who finished the works starting from 1547.