Osoppo (Osôf in Friulian) is an Italian town of 2 858 inhabitants
in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is part of the historical region of
Gemonese. The municipality covers an area of approximately 22 km².
The territory is mainly flat, but there are 6 hills (the 3 main
reliefs are the Fort of Osoppo, the Colle di San Rocco and the Col
Vergnâl).
The fort of Osoppo, whose summit represents the
highest point in the municipal area, reaches about 330 meters in
height. Numerous paths depart from the town and the woods that
surround it, but the main road used to reach the summit is a wide
and comfortable road that starts from Borgo Ulivo.
The hill
has 2 main peaks and numerous branches and minor peaks. The highest
point is the Colle di Napoleone, on whose slopes, from the time of
the Venetian domination of Friuli until the Second World War, there
was a barracks. The hill of San Rocco is the 2nd highest relief in
the municipality. Near the summit there is a small church dedicated
to San Rocco.
Col Vergnâl is a small relief located in the
territory of the Rivoli di Osoppo hamlet. Much of the municipal area
is covered by wood, which is crossed by numerous paths and a ring
route on a dirt and gravel road, about 7 km long.
Within the
wooded area of the municipality flow several streams, rivers and
canals. The forest is bordered to the east by the magredi of the
Tagliamento, the most important river in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia
region. Among the places to visit in the woods, the area of the
evocative springs of Bârs is certainly in first place. Osoppo is
also famous for the spontaneous growth of numerous species of
orchids in the surrounding woods.
Among the main monuments and works of art, there are the archpriest
church of Santa Maria ad Nives, the church of San Giacomo, and the
church of San Rocco. Furthermore there are:
the Fortress or Rocca
of Osoppo - the hill has always been a key point of the defenses against
invasions that pushed towards the south, presumably inhabited since the
Neolithic, it took on importance in the Celtic era and even more so in
the Roman era, the Lombard defense against the attacks by the Avars, it
played a large role in the defense of the Republic of Venice against the
imperial forces in the War of the League of Cambrai, in the First
Italian War of Independence, and was also the scene of fighting in the
First World War.
Bars springs;
parish church of Santa Maria ad
Nives, with the famous Pala del Pellegrino da San Daniele, and the Pala
di Pomponio Amalteo, which includes the oldest existing view of Osoppo;
church of San Giacomo;
church of San Rocco;
hill of San Rocco;
Vergnâl hill;
Gnima hill;
magredi del Tagliamento;
tracks of
Hipparion fossil footprints (unique in Europe) on the Fortress;
Historical Naturalistic Path CAI. Osoppo
In a large flat area at the
end of the road that leads from Borgo Ulivo to the Osoppo Fort, there
are numerous buildings from different eras, from the Venetian domination
to the Great War.
Inside the ancient "House of the Drum", today
there is a bar. On the walls of the building there are numerous
photographs taken before the 1976 earthquake in Friuli.
Continuing the journey on an easy path, you arrive at the so-called
"cannon plain", precisely because until the battle of the Isonzo there
were around ten cannons located here. During the Great War, the cannons
were transferred to the Isonzo, because in Osoppo, which was far from
the Austro-Hungarian troops, they were useless. On the path you also
come across the ancient Castle of the Savorgnan family and, if you take
a narrow road that branches off from the main path, you reach the
Savorgnan family cemetery.
Still on the Osoppo Fort, taking a
path that starts in front of the "drum house", you reach the top of
Napoleon Hill, passing through the ruins of the French barracks. The
hill is an excellent panoramic point over the entire Gemona area, in
particular Gemona del Friuli, Osoppo, Artegna and Buja.
Rototom Sunsplash, Osoppo hosted one of the most important reggae music festivals in Europe since the nineties, which took place at the beginning of July at the Rivellino Park. Since 2010 the organizing committee has decided to move it to Benicàssim, Spain.
There have been numerous interpretations of the place name, such as the Latin Os-Apertum (open place), Os-Oppidum (fortified place), Os-Opum (place of wealth), Hyssopum (from the hyssop plant), Aus-opum (place by the river), the pre-Roman Os-Osis (from ash tree), the gallocarnica Os-Hop (place to call out loud).
Osoppo was in every age closely linked to the most famous of its hills, called "il Forte", which was exploited over the centuries for its strategic position both as an element of the military defensive system and as a place to control the roads that cross the plain.
In ancient times the municipal territory was inhabited by the Carni
tribe, part of the Celtic people and settled throughout Friuli. In
fact, there are evident signs left by the Celtic language in the
current Friulian language and in the culture and traditions of the
Friulian people.
In an epigraph discovered by Count Girolamo
Savorgnan at the junction of via Iulia Concordia with via Iulia
Augusta, some have seen a probable indication of the existence of
the Etruscan road (the importance of this writing is not the meaning
of the words but the writing itself, not from Roman times). The
presence of the important communication routes mentioned led to the
construction of a signal tower on top of the hill and consequently a
residential settlement.
The Friulian foothills
and Carnia (and consequently Osoppo) were conquered by the Romans
during the first century BC (there is no precise information
regarding the actual conquest of Gemonese by the Romans, but with
good probability it took place between 115 and 50 B.C).
From
that moment began a process of Romanization of the Gallic tribe of
the Carni, which will continue throughout the period of Roman
domination and will end only after the invasions of the Germans. In
fact, the last documents in Celtic language in Cisalpine Gaul date
back to around the 2nd century AD.
The Celtic spoken by the
meat is the basis of the formation of the vulgar Latin which,
combined with Germanic elements, will lead to the formation of the
Friulian language
Osoppo was invaded by the barbarians after the fall of the Roman
Empire, but managed to resist the incursions of the Avars. The
Lombard domination was especially important, affecting the territory
of Friuli (and therefore of Osoppo). Following the Lombard
domination, Osoppo was invaded by the Franks, and later by the
troops of the Holy Roman Germanic Empire, of which it will remain a
part until 1420, the year of the Venetian invasion. These almost
1000 years of German domination have left many imprints on the
culture and in the Friulian language.
At the end of the 11th
century, possession of the abbey of Sesto al Reghena, it then became
part of the properties of the patriarch of Aquileia, who, towards
the middle of the 13th century, granted the feudal investiture to a
noble family of the place (a certain Cono, son of Amaldaric). His
descendants were distinguished by their turbulence, which led them
to harass the inhabitants of the neighboring territories and to
sympathize with the Counts of Gorizia, so much so as to worry the
Patriarchs who could not allow the castle, important for its
strategic position, to end under the rule of rivals. It was for this
reason that the patriarch of Aquileia invested Federico Savorgnan in
the fiefdom of Osoppo in 1328.
In 1420 Osoppo came under the
domination of the Venetian Republic, which strengthened the
fortifications on the hill, making it its northern defensive
bulwark. For Osoppo began a long series of heroic and memorable
battles against besieging forces far superior to those of the
defenders. The fortress of Osoppo in 1514 was under the command of
Girolamo Savorgnan, when the army commanded by the brutal Cristoforo
di Frangipane, who was known for his fame of quenching his anger and
his thirst for blood on the unarmed peasants, descended in Italy,
the Venetian Senate, well aware of its attitudes towards civilian
populations, let all of Friuli surrender to the Imperials, but the
Savorgnan did not want to know about giving up his fortress, so he
perched inside waiting for the reinforcements of the Venetian army
commanded by Bartolomeo d 'Alviano. The Count of Frangipane instead
of wading the Tagliamento wanted at all costs to first remove that
"pebble from his shoes", but the siege went on for a long time,
giving the Alviano time to intervene, defeating in front of the
walls of Osoppo the imperial army and capturing the Earl of
Frangipane.
Several times besieged, it was occupied by the French, Russians and Austrians, who returned to possession even after the brief Napoleonic interlude, making Osoppo a fixed and equipped garrison with barracks, warehouses and weapons and powder magazines. During the French occupation the hill of Osoppo was further fortified and Napoleon's hill was "built". In the vicinity of the hill you can still see the "throne" carved into the rock on which the French Emperor used to sit to enjoy the view of the Gemonese and to think about the ways in which he could fortify that area. In the same period the fortification of the current park of the ravelin began.
During the Risorgimento uprisings of
1848, Osoppo resisted the Austrians for seven months and at the
moment of surrender had the honor of arms from the same opponent and
was awarded the gold medal for military valor.
It was the
seat of an Italian military garrison during the First World War,
which was later abandoned because the soldiers and weapons present
in Osoppo were transferred to the Isonzo front. In 1943 it was
occupied by the Nazi armies and this cost it heavy aerial
bombardments. During the war of liberation, Osoppo gave its name to
the Catholic partisan formations (Brigate Osoppo).
In 1943,
during the Resistance in Friuli, partisan brigades with a Catholic
lay orientation were formed and they were called the Osoppo Brigade.
The purpose of the Osoppo formations was twofold: to fight against
the Germans and to distinguish themselves from the Communists
especially when the latter agreed to pass under the command of the
Yugoslav formations. The choice of the name was significant: Osoppo
because during the Risorgimento, in 1848, it had opposed a strenuous
resistance to the Austrian occupation, resisting the siege of the
Imperials for almost 7 months. On February 7, 1945, about seventeen
fighters from the Osoppo brigade were killed by Mario Toffanin's
Gappisti (the fighting nuclei of the Communist Party) in the
so-called Porzûs massacre. After World War II, Osoppo had to face
the harsh reality of reconstruction and, consequently, a strong
emigration.
In the seventies it reached a good level of
economic development with the establishment of the industrial zone,
but the earthquakes of 1976 struck another severe blow to the
country: they caused enormous collapses and damage, destroying 80%
of the houses and killing over 120 people. Many collapses were
favored by the advanced age of the buildings, which had been spared
from the ravages of the world wars. After the earthquake Osoppo was
completely rebuilt with anti-seismic criteria.
The municipality covers an area of approximately 22 km². The
territory is mainly flat, however there are 6 hills (the three main
reliefs are the hill of the same name, where the Fort is located, the
Colle di San Rocco and the Col Vergnâl).
The Osoppo fort, whose
peak represents the highest point in the municipal area, reaches
approximately 330 meters in height. Numerous paths start from the town
and the woods that surround it, but the main route used to reach the
summit is a wide and comfortable road that starts from Borgo Ulivo.
The hill has 2 main peaks and numerous branches and minor peaks. The
highest point is the Colle di Napoleone, on whose slopes, from the time
of the Venetian domination of Friuli until the Second World War, there
was a barracks. The San Rocco hill is the 2nd highest hill in the
municipality. Near the summit there is a small church, dedicated to San
Rocco.
Col Vergnâl is a small relief, located in the territory of
the hamlet of Rivoli di Osoppo. A good part of the municipal territory
is covered by the forest, which is crossed by numerous paths and a
circular route on a dirt and gravel road, approximately 7 km long.
Various streams, rivers and canals flow within the wooded area of
the municipality. The forest is bordered to the east by the river banks
of the Tagliamento, the most important river in the Friuli-Venezia
Giulia region. Among the places to visit in the woods, the area of the
suggestive Bârs springs is certainly in first place. Osoppo is also
famous for the spontaneous growth of numerous species of orchids in the
woods that surround it.
The municipality is divided into the capital, into the hamlets of Rivoli di Osoppo and Pineta, and into numerous villages (the most important being Borgo Ulivo and Borgo del Forte).
Railways
In the municipal area there are two railway stations, not
yet served by passenger services, on the Pinzano-Gemona railway:
Majano station, abolished in 2003 but reopened to tourist services in
2018.
Osoppo station, also used for freight service.
The local football team, A.S.D. Osoppo played in the regional Second
Category football championship until the end of the 2013-2014 sports
season. At the end of the season, which ended with relegation after the
defeat in the play-out against Majanese, the club did not register for
the 2014-2015 Third Category provincial championship, effectively ending
all sporting activities both relating to the first team and the teams
youth.
The town also hosted some stage finishes of the Giro del
Friuli. On May 31, 2014, the 20th and penultimate stage of the 2014 Giro
d'Italia passed through the town.
Furthermore, there is a rock
gym in the area, located on the eastern side of Colle di Osoppo. This
crag is home to numerous mountaineering routes and a via ferrata. The
management of the crag is entrusted to the Gemona del Friuli section of
the Italian Alpine Club