Chiusaforte

Chiusaforte (Slovene: Kluže; German: Klausen; Friulian: Sclûse) is a comune (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Udine in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

Chiusaforte Kluže (Slovene) Sclûse (Friulian)
Comune
Comune di Chiusaforte
Location of Chiusaforte
Chiusaforte Location of Chiusaforte in Italy Show map of Italy Chiusaforte Chiusaforte (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) Show map of Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Coordinates: 46°24′N 13°19′E
Country	Italy
Region	Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Province	Udine (UD)
Frazioni	Costamolino e Sella Nevea
Government
• Mayor	Fabrizio Fuccaro
Area [1]
• Total	100.6 km2 (38.8 sq mi)
Elevation	391 m (1,283 ft)
Population  (31 December 2010)[2]
• Total	705
• Density	7.0/km2 (18/sq mi)
Demonym	Chiusani
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	33010
Dialing code	0433

Geography

Road and railway bridges crossing the Fella River

It is located about 90 kilometres (56 mi) northwest of Trieste and about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Udine, on the border with Slovenia. Chiusaforte is situated in the Canal del Ferro valley of the Fella River, running between the Carnic and Julian Alps to its confluence with the Tagliamento.

Chiusaforte borders the following municipalities: Dogna, Malborghetto Valbruna, Moggio Udinese, Bovec (Slovenia), Resia, Resiutta, Tarvisio.

The Fella Valley is the site of Pontebbana railway line from Udine to Tarvisio and the Austrian border. It is also traversed by the parallel Italian Autostrada A23 highway from Palmanova to Tarvisio.

History

the Jôf di Montasio from Kanin Mountains

The narrow valley probably had been the site of a Roman Road from Italy to the Noricum province. Ulric von Eppenstein, Patriarch of Aquileia (1086–1121) had a fortress erected to charge tolls to travellers crossing the Alps. The Patriarchs had to defend their territory against the claims raised by the Counts of Görz and the Dukes of Carinthia, until in 1420 the Republic of Venice conquered the Fella Valley up to Pontebba and incorporated it into the Domini di Terraferma.

Annexed by the Habsburg monarchy according to the 1797 Treaty of Campo Formio it was part of the Austrian Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia from 1815, until it fell with Venetia to the newly established Kingdom of Italy according to the 1866 Treaty of Vienna.