Although Aviano has been inhabited only since the 10th century AD, evidence of a human presence dates to before the Romans entered the area in 186 BC. Most historians believe that Aviano developed with a commercial center located where present day Aviano is situated and a cultural and defensive center in the castle area. Aviano was a possession of the Patriarchal State of Friuli until 1420, when it came under the influence of the Venetian Republic. Aviano became a part of the Italian State in 1866.
Geography
Although the village is located at the foot of the Carnic Prealpi, the municipality extends to an altitude of over above sea level, near the ski resort of Piancavallo and Busa Villotta.
Climate
Main sights
Religious buildings
The Cathedral of San Zenone, built between 1775 and 1832. It has paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries, one of which attributed to Paolo Veronese's school.
The church of St. Gregory, in the frazione of Castello, with a precious fresco cycle of the Passion of Christ.
Sanctuary of the Madonna del Monte, built in 1615 on the site of a Marian apparition, was remodeled in the Baroque style.
Church of Santa Caterina, in the frazione of Marsure, built in the fifteenth century and richly frescoed with scenes from the life of Santa.
Parish Church of Giais, retains a baroque altarpiece of O. Gortanutti.
Parish Church of San Martino. Guards inside a canvas of Pomponio Amalteo and some wooden works of the seventeenth century.
Church of San Floriano of the fifteenth century.
Secular buildings
The remains of the Castle, on a hill nearby the city, including two towers, the mastio and the walls. The latter include the Renaissance-style church of Santa Maria e Giuliana, which houses a precious stone Pietà sculpture by masters from Salzburg.
The village has a total of 7 Venetian villas protected by the Regional Institute Venetian Villas. The following villas can be visited upon request: Villa Policreti-Fabris with the adjoining frescoed chapel, Villa Bonassi and Villa Zanussi-Fabris. You must then remember the imposing presence of Villa Menegozzi Brazzoduro dating from the mid-eighteenth century.
Natural places
The ski resort of Piancavallo, elevation above sea level, at the foot of Monte Cavallo,. On one of the peaks of Monte Cavallo there is a bronze statue of the Virgin Mary by the sculptor Pierino Sam Pordenone.
Transport
Aviano is served by a station on the Sacile-Pinzano Railway: the Aviano railway station. The Sacile-Pinzano line connects the town of Sacile, on the Venice-Udine railway, to the village of Pinzano, on the Gemona del Friuli-Pinzano line. As of today, the service is limited from Sacile to Maniago.
Aviano Air Base was established by Italy in 1911. The base was among the first ones available to Italian aviation. There has been an American presence at Aviano Air Base since the end of World War II. In 1954 the Italian and American governments signed a joint use agreement and by 1955, HQ United States Air Forces in Europe had moved its Italian operations from Udine to Aviano. The base went through a period of hosting rotational fighter squadrons. With the declining use of the Italian live fire range, the rotational squadrons became a thing of the past. Aviano became a war reserve material storage base and played a big part in Desert Storm. In 1992, HQ 16th Air Force and the 401st Fighter Wing moved from Torrejon Air Base, Spain to Aviano. The Wing became home to two F-16 fighter squadrons, the 510th FS and the 555th FS. Both squadrons relocated from Ramstein AB in 1994 and redesignated. The wing was redesignated from the 401st Fighter Wing to the 31st Fighter Wing in 1994 as Aviano took on permanently based aircraft for the first time in over 50 years. The base currently performs a NATO mission with close coordination with Italian personnel.
