Palazzo Arcivescovile and Gallerie del Tiepolo

The Patriarchal (now Archbishop's) Palace contains the densest concentration of Tiepolo frescoes outside Venice. The grand staircase, the gallery of guests, and above all the Sala del Trono are covered with biblical scenes — the Judgement of Solomon, the Fall of the Rebel Angels — painted between 1726 and 1730 when Giambattista Tiepolo was in his twenties.

The palace also houses the Diocesan Museum, with painted wooden sculpture and devotional art from Friuli, and a richly decorated library. It is the best single museum visit in Udine. Open daily except Tuesday.

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A story
Tiepolo was 19 years old when the patriarch of Aquileia, Dionisio Dolfin, brought him to Udine to fresco the palace ceilings. The cycle here is the earliest large surviving work of his career — the place where he learned to paint his characteristic sky-blue, gold-shot vaults.

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