Strassoldo is a hamlet of the Municipality of Cervignano del Friuli located in a particular area of the lower Friulian plain called the “zone delle risorgive”. With its two castles, Strassoldo is a rare example of an ancient medieval village, extremely well preserved and of rare charm.

Since their construction, the manors have been inhabited by the eponymous patrician family of German origin, the counts Strassoldo-Graffemberg, who were one of the first families of free feudal lords and who provided the Habsburg Empire of Austria with a long series of important officials and generals. The Strassoldo family is one of the few examples of feudal lords who have always maintained possession of the castles since their foundation, inhabiting them from then until today.

The toponym, of Germanic origin, relates to its location along a road (Strasse) and on an island, “Aue”; in fact, the original castle was built more than a thousand years ago on a natural islet of the river along the ancient Via Julia Augusta (a Roman road connecting Aquileia to Noricum). It is believed that there was an early fortified structure from the Ottonian era to counter the raids of the Hungarians and perhaps earlier during the Lombard period to guard the plain against the Byzantine presence in the lagoon.

Originally, there was only one manor, called “dalle due torri”; some centuries later, around each of the two original towers, two distinct castle complexes developed, named Castello di Sotto and Castello di Sopra; the Strassoldo family thus divided into the two branches of “quelli di Sopra” and “quelli di Sotto”.

Over the centuries, the castles were subject to complex political-military events: suffice it to say that in 1381 they were invested by the militias of Patriarch Filippo d’Alençon, in 1499 they were grazed by Turkish raids, to resist which in 1500 they were equipped with an additional wall and towers. Subsequently, they were destroyed by the imperial armies in 1509 when they were attacked by the troops belonging to the League of Cambrai. Around the mid-18th century, both fortified structures of Strassoldo underwent significant restorations by the brothers Nicolò (for the Castello di Sotto) and Giuseppe (for the Castello di Sopra), assuming the current configuration that sees the transformation of the fortified complex into two noble residences surrounded by centuries-old parks and crossed by the clear waters of two resurgence rivers, and precisely because of the many watercourses that surround them, they are called “castelli d’acqua”.

The monumental complex appears today in its 18th-century reworking, still allowing a glimpse of the configuration of the ancient manor used as a tool of defense and offense.

The Borgo Vecchio is the village of the Castello di Sopra, which is accessed from the north through the ancient Porta Cistigna; it developed around the castle itself and also includes various buildings that once served agricultural and administrative functions.

The castle complex begins with the large arch of the ancient Porta Cistigna, built on what were the outer walls, leading into a cobbled street with an ancient medieval wall on the left and some stone buildings of the same era on the right; the lower ones were once used as the Houses of the Armigers, while the taller one was used as a Vicinìa (building dedicated to administrative center) and for a certain period also as a court for minor cases, now transformed into accommodation facilities.

Proceeding, you reach the Coretto, an arch that connects the main palace of the castle to the church of S. Nicolò, which was the manor's family church expanded in the 18th century and later donated to the population. Currently, it is the Parish Church of the village and is of beautiful design, with interesting examples of local art.

Passing the coretto, you enter the castle square, where the church of San Nicolò and the main body of the castle, a noble palace leaning against the Ottonian tower, face each other.

The main palace of the Castello di Sopra (which was also inhabited by Marshal Radetzky, who married a countess Strassoldo in the church of San Nicolò) consists of numerous halls; on the ground floor, we find the entrance hall, which allows access to the viceroy's sitting room and the typical Friulian kitchen; it also allows exit to a large garden terrace and through a corridor, it is possible to reach the guard room and the cellar.

Access to the main floor is via a solemn stone staircase that allows access to an elegant balcony overlooking the parish church; on the left is the Salone degli Imperatori, on the right are the Sale dello Stemma, della Stufa, and that of the Governor.

Elegantly furnished and heated by fireplaces and ancient stoves, the rooms are certainly evocative, with precious wooden floors and ceilings and walls, partly frescoed, embellished with ancient paintings.

Behind the main palace extends the park, established around the mid-18th century. The ancient late Baroque layout is recognizable in the large orangery, surrounded by powerful 18th-century columns. As evidence of the ancient presence of the garden, in the middle of the park itself, there is an imposing Magnolia Grandiflora.

Behind the church of San Nicolò are arranged in a semicircle, on what were the remains of the castle's inner wall, the buildings that once served as Stables, House of the artisans, Granaries, and Chancellery. Behind the chancellery extends to the river Taglio the large green area of the Brolo (ancient vegetable garden and orchard), now transformed into a garden.

Continuing south, you reach the Pileria del riso and, crossing the small bridge, you enter the premises of the Castello di Sotto, consisting of a main body behind which extends a large park, the countryside, and the houses that once served agricultural and administrative purposes.

The complex of the Castello di Sotto developed around a massive tower, now no longer existing, where justice was administered.

After crossing the bridge, the first building encountered on the left is the ancient stables now transformed into a residential building; a little further on, the view is attracted by an imposing stone building, the Castello di Sotto, still today called “Casa Grande” because in ancient times next to the disappeared tower was built the “Domus Magna”, defended by the walled enclosure called “gironutto”, of which now remains a crenellated section, equipped with a pointed portal in late 16th-century terracotta, the so-called “Pusterla”.

Expanded several times over the centuries, in the first half of the 18th century, the Castle underwent an important cycle of restorations that led to its current appearance with the main facade, facing the garden, refined taking into account the tastes and canons of the time. Inside there are rooms with precious painted wooden ceilings dating back to the late 16th century and, on the ground floor, the old kitchen and the ancient guardhouse, whose restoration has allowed the recovery of the original medieval appearance. Among the contiguous rooms, the fascinating master kitchen heated by a large fogolâr remains noteworthy.

The vast 18th-century park is highly evocative, introduced by two fishponds and rich in statues and rare and ancient plant species.

The park of the Castello di Sotto is one of the most interesting in Friuli, both for its exemplary state of preservation and because it marks the beginning, in the area, of the spread of the landscape garden. The park was created following a large land reclamation project carried out in the first half of the 18th century, thanks to Nicolò Francesco Strassoldo, who related the formal elements of the garden with nature. Thus, the marshy and uncultivated areas were reclaimed, creating a layout where water became the dominant artistic element: fountains, wells, ponds, and fishponds constituted a natural scenic backdrop to the statues and sometimes rare species. Noteworthy, for its particular and singular craftsmanship, is the rectangular island surrounded by a moat containing a miniature Italian garden and located at the extreme edge of the park.

Outside the gironutto on the left is the small church of San Marco, the family chapel of the di Sotto lineage, probably built by adapting a shielded tower in 1575 and attached to the “Domus Magna”.

After crossing another small bridge, you enter the "Borgo Nuovo", probably established in the 13th century and defended in turn by a circle of walls characterized by two gate towers, one of which still survives, albeit deprived of its arch, traditionally called “Porta Cisis”. This village once housed the houses of artisans, the houses of commoners and armigers, and the Foledôr.

Exiting Porta Cisis and proceeding north, on the left stands an elegant pink building: it is Villa Vitas, formerly Villa Strassoldo Chiasottis, nestled in the heart of a centuries-old park crossed by a long avenue of magnolias that disappears among the vineyards of the estate, in the heart of the DOC Friuli Aquileia territory. The stylistic features of the villa and a document dating back to 1776 (which describes its state in 1744) date its construction to between the late 17th and early 18th centuries. In 1937, the entire property was purchased by Commendator Romano Vitas, the great-grandfather of the current owner, who chose it as the headquarters of the family winery. Currently, the vineyard area covers 11 hectares, and the prized production of typical wines is mainly destined for export.

From Villa Vitas, returning towards the northern entrance gate of the Castello di Sopra, you can see an ancient mill from the 12th century, which operated for over seven hundred years and still preserves the old machinery inside.

A little further on from Villa Vitas, there is the Borgo Viola, which within its centa housed, in addition to the old Parish Church of Santa Maria in Vineis, the old rectory and a small settlement. The small church of Santa Maria in Vineis certainly arose after the Hungarian invasions of the 10th century; around it, a cemetery was created, now disappeared. On the facade of the small church, equipped with a bell gable with a bell bifora, numerous fragments of a fresco are still present, now unfortunately illegible.

The interior features a semicircular apse and a rectangular nave on whose walls is one of the most important fresco cycles in Friuli, which can be dated to the fifth or sixth decade of the 14th century; the artistic level is such that the frescoes have been attributed to Vitale da Bologna, Masolino da Panicale, and Tommaso da Modena.

The fresco cycle begins on the left wall (entering from the main door) and is divided into four panels narrating the stories of Mary and her family; in particular, the first two panels tell the story of Joachim and Anne, respectively the father and mother of the Virgin Mary, the third depicts the birth of Mary, and the last represents the Madonna enthroned with Child surrounded by Saints. On the triumphal arch separating the nave from the apse, the Annunciation is depicted, while on the right wall of the nave, divided into three panels, the story of Baby Jesus is narrated. The first panel depicts the Nativity of Christ, the second the Adoration of the Magi, and the last the Flight into Egypt. On the counter-facade, the Last Judgment is represented, with the depiction of paradise on the left and hell on the right in the lower part.