| Gemona del Friuli | |||
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| — Comune — | |||
| Città di Gemona del Friuli | |||
| Cathedral of Gemona. | |||
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Gemona del Friuli
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Italy | ||
| Region | Friuli-Venezia Giulia | ||
| Province | Udine (UD) | ||
| Frazioni | Campagnola, Campolessi, Maniaglia, Ospedaletto, Godo, Centro Storico, Stalis, Taviele, Taboga | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Paolo Urbani | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 56.2 km2 (21.7 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 272 m (892 ft) | ||
| Population (30 November 2008)[1] | |||
| • Total | 11,175 | ||
| • Density | 198.8/km2 (515/sq mi) | ||
| Demonym | Gemonesi | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | 33013 | ||
| Dialing code | 0432 | ||
| Patron saint | Santa Maria Assunta | ||
| Saint day | December 8 | ||
| Website | Official website | ||
Gemona del Friuli (Friulian: Glemone, Slovene: Humin) is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 90 km northwest of Trieste and about 25 km northwest of Udine.
The municipality of Gemona del Friuli contains the frazioni (subdivisions, mainly villages and hamlets) Campagnola, Campolessi, Maniaglia, Ospedaletto, Godo, Centro Storico, Stalis, Taviele, and Taboga.
Gemona del Friuli borders the following municipalities: Artegna, Bordano, Buja, Lusevera, Montenars, Osoppo, Trasaghis, Venzone.
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Evidence of human occupation in Gemona goes back to prehistoric times. The town occupies a key point on the road from Italy to Austria, and there are traces of Celtic occupation around the year 500 BC.
The area was subject to various invasions in the period 166-750, including Huns, Marcomanni, Ostrogoths, Visigoths and Lombards, who had it as a stronghold from about 558. Lombard historian Paul the Deacon mentions it in 611 as an "impregnable castle". From the fall of the Lombard Kingdom of Italy until 952 Gemona was under Carolingian rulers. During this period the castle was built, the modern town growing around it.
From 776, Gemona became an important part of the Patriarchate of Aquileia. In the 12th century Gemona was an autonomous commune: in 1184 the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa granted a charter for the town's market. In the 13th and 14th century it returned to the Patriarchate, until, in 1420, that state was absorbed by the Republic of Venice.
In 1797 French troops under Napoleon defeated the Venetian Republic: in 1798, after the Treaty of Campoformio, Gemona came under Austrian rule. Following a plebiscite in 1866, Gemona became part of the newly unified Kingdom of Italy.
The present town is medieval in origin but was badly damaged in the 1976 Friuli earthquake. Restoration began the same year, and now the town has been largely restored. The castle is currently under reconstruction.
Gemona's main attraction is its medieval cathedral (Duomo), dating to the 14th century. It has a massive bell tower of the same period.