Friuli Venezia Giulia

Friuli-Venezia Giulia (pronounced [friˈuːli veˈnɛttsja ˈdʒuːlja]) is one of the 20 regions of Italy and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The regional capital is Trieste on the Gulf of Trieste, a very shallow bay of the Adriatic Sea. The region is called Friûl Vignesie Julie in Friulian, Furlanija Julijska krajina in Slovene and Friaul Julisch Venetien in German, the three languages spoken in the region. The city of Venice (Venezia in Italian) is not in this region, despite the name. Friuli-Venezia Giulia has an area of 7,924 square kilometres (3,059 sq mi) and about 1.2 million inhabitants. A natural opening to the sea for many central European countries, the region is traversed by the major transport routes between the east and west of Southern Europe. It encompasses the historical-geographical region of Friuli and a small portion of the historical region of Venezia Giulia – also known in English as the Julian March – each with its own distinct history, traditions and identity.