Castello di Invillino (Villa Santina)

Gisulf II, third Duke of Friuli under Lombard rule, ordered in 610 the reinforcement of a number of castles as a defense against the Avars. One of them was the fortress of Ibligo, which according to many historians corresponds to present-day Invillino. Inhabited since Roman times, the castle was mentioned in 1219 and 1279, first as it was part of a treaty, then because it was cited in a declaration by the Patriarch’s representative in Carnia, regarding the administration of justice in the territory.

The castle and its estate were also a Patriarchal fief, held, maintained and defended by the Church of Aquileia, although the Patriarch himself ordered the complete demolition of the castle in 1353. The estate, however, was not dissolved and was granted again in 1389, 1402 and 1441. Very few traces of this ancient fortress have survived to this day.