Autumn itinerary from Udine to Kobarid: Longobard villages and cave churches

An autumn itinerary from Udine to Kobarid (Caporetto) in Slovenia explores the historical and artistic heritage of the Friuli region, offering an alternative to the classic Collio wine tour. The route includes stops at Povoletto's Antiquarium della Motta and Mostra del Fossile, featuring medieval artifacts and Paleozoic fossils. Cividale del Friuli, a UNESCO site since 2011, showcases Longobard architecture at the Tempietto (8th century) and the Museo Archeologico Nazionale. San Pietro al Natisone hosts the Museo di paesaggi e narrazioni (SMO), which uses multimedia to tell the region's multicultural stories. The Santuario della Beata Vergine di Castelmonte, rebuilt after 1469, and the Grotta di San Giovanni d'Antro, a cave church with Templar symbols, are nearby. The Grande Guerra trekking trail follows the 1917 Caporetto battle lines, passing fortifications and war cemeteries. A detour to San Giovanni al Natisone leads to the Xyloteca Lignamundi, a collection of over 1,000 wood species curated by Gianni Cantarutti. An upcoming exhibition at Casa Cavazzini in Udine will mark the centenary of architect Gino Valle's birth in 1923.