Udine

Udine is a city in north-eastern Italy, in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. Located between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps, it is less than 40km from Slovenia and 90km from Austria. Udine has a population of 100,000. Ruled by Romans, Lombards and subsequently by the Venetians, it became a major economic and trading centre in the medieval period. Most of its historic monuments date back to that era: Piazza Libertà, the city’s main square, the Loggia del Lionello, a Venetian-Gothic style palace resembling that of Venice’s Piazza San Marco, the Clock Tower, a 16th century Venetian castle which houses one of the most ancient Parliament Halls of Europe, the city museum and a 12th century church.

An area that combines industry with agriculture and forestry, Udine has been one of the more fortunate cities in the face of the post-2008 crisis. Unemployment levels in 2012—at around 8% in total and 21% for young people (under 25s) respectively—were both well below the national average. Much of the city’s industrial and logistics activity is based in a designated industrial zone that is home to 115 companies. The Udinese area is famous for being a European centre for chair production, a speciality dating back more than a hundred years. More than 1,000 companies produce some 30 million chairs a year.

Between industry, agriculture and the service sector, Udine’s business profile is very much one of small and medium-sized enterprises: with the province having one company for every nine inhabitants. The city has good motorway connections and a university founded in 1978.