Palmanova

The perfect star
Palmanova is a masterpiece of Venetian military architecture, a fortress town designed and built to defend the regional borders against foreign threats, particularly from the Turks.
The town plan is based on a unique model, a perfectly symmetrical nine-pointed star, with a central piazza.
Access to the centre is via three monumental gates, known as Aquileia, Udine and Cividale and, whichever direction you arrive from, you reach the Piazza Grande, the historic fortress square.
The square is in the form of a perfect hexagon and is flanked by fine and important buildings, including the cathedral, where there are a number of works of interest, and the Civic History Museum, containing arms, historical items and documents illustrating the history of the fortress town from its origins to the Second World War.
In the second weekend of July, Palmanova stages a historical pageant with over two hundred participants dressed in seventeenth century costumes re-enacting the first time the ensign of the Most Serene Republic of Venice was hoisted at the centre of the fortress square.