Articles

Ippolito Nievo (Padua 1831-Tyrrhenian Sea 1861) was a writer and a patriot. His mother’s mother, Ippolita di Colloredo, belonged to a Friulian noble family. Aged 14, the writer chose to be called Ippolito among a long list of names he had been christened with. At the time of Nievo, Friuli was still a land of castles, feudal traditions and strong contrast, something he extensively described in his masterpiece “Confessions of an Italian”. Beside the castle of Colloredo, his grandmother’s family also owned the castle of Fratta – his best-known literary site – by then actually a modest residence, more similar to a country manor than a castle, surrounded by weak walls.

This small village is a treasure trove of Renaissance art. The parish church and other small churches nearby hold the works by painters Pordenone, Amalteo, Domenico da Tolmezzo. The village is also home to the Palazzo di Prampero, where writer Ippolito Nievo stayed as a guest of count Antonino, his daughter Pisana and her brothers. Countess Pisana was the main source of inspiration for the leading character in the book “Confessions of an Italian”. In real life, the countess married chemist Luigi Chiozza, but died in childbirth after two years of marriage only. Buried in the monumental cemetery of Udine, she was mourned by her husband with a touching inscription on her grave.