A local’s guide to Udine, Italy: modern art and film in an ancient former capital

Sabrina Baracetti, president of the Far East Film Festival, shares tips on the northeastern city’s unique cuisine and arts scenes, leafy piazzas and €1 aperitifs

We are spoilt for eating out in Udine. Prices are reasonable, and Friulano cuisine is totally delicious. Don’t miss Al Vecchio Stallo, where I love the contrast of the two grizzled owners cracking jokes and speaking only Friulano with the cooks, who are two bubbly West African women well-versed in local cuisine. The food is totally traditional – frico (fried cheese), salami cooked with vinegar and brovada (fermented greens, similar to sauerkraut) and delicate cjarsons (sweet/savoury stuffed pasta). Two restaurants with outstanding wine lists are Hostaria alla Tavernetta and Osteria da Michele. Check out Sunday’s Mercato del Cormor, where farmers sell their vegetables, cheese and home-cured salami. For a morning treat, sip a wicked hot chocolate in the sumptuous art nouveau Caffè Contarena, with the perfect view of the 15th-century Torre dell’Orologio across the square.