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Carnia (Friulian:Cjargne orCjargna/Cjargno in local variants,Venetian:Ciargna,German:Karnien,Slovene:Karnija) is a historical-geographic region in the northeastern Italian area ofFriuli.^[1][2] Its 27 municipalities all belong to theprovince of Udine, which itself is part of the autonomousFriuli-Venezia Giulia region.

The name of the region, like neighbouringCarinthia andCarniola (and quite possibly alsoKarst), probably derives from theCarni,^[3] aCeltic tribe who had lived for centuries in the fertile plains between theRhine and theDanube rivers where other Celtic peoples lived. Starting from 1400 BC, the demographic growth and the pressure of the Germanic peoples, originated a migratory flood towards the south. The Carni crossed the Alps via thePlöcken Pass and settled in the region which is nowadays named Carnia and in the piedmont zone of Friuli. They practiced hunting and breeding. During the hard winters the herders used to move with their cattle down to the piedmont plains. Also they were skilful iron and wood manufacturers. The Carni were headed by a king and asacerdotal caste ofdruids.

The first historical date related to the arrival of the Carni is 186 BC, when some 50,000 Carni, composed of armed men, women and children descended towards the plains (in which they previously used to winter) and on a hill they founded a stable defensive settlement,Akileja.^{[2][additional citation(s) needed]} TheRomans, concerned by the expansion of this people, in 183 BC forced back the Carni to the mountains, they destroyed their settlement and they founded a defensive settlement at the north-east boundaries. The new settlement was namedAquileia, after the former Celtic name Akileja. The triumvirs that founded that settlement were Publius Scipio Nasica, Caius Flaminius and Lucius Manlius Acidinus.

In order to stem the Roman expansion and to acquire the fertile and more hospitable plains, the Carni tried to form alliances with theHistrian, theIapode, and theTaurisci Celts. As Rome, in turn, was more and more becoming aware of the impending danger coming from the Carni and as it wanted to accelerate its own expansion, it sent to the north-east the legions of consulMarcus Aemilius Scaurus, who finally defeated the Carni in a battle of 15 November 115 BC.

Later on, the Carni, characterised by a docile temper and who had been defeated in battle, submitted to Rome, accepting its commands and its concessions. In the course of the following centuries, the Carni and Roman customs and blood, along with the aboriginalRaeti, would get mixed and this union of deeply different cultures would slowly give rise to a new people, the Aquileiese or new Friulan People. The old, dating to 1400BC. The mixing of the Latin, Celtic andRaetic languages would give rise to theNew Friulan language. In the meantime Aquileia enlarged its importance. It became aMunicipium Romanum in 90 BC; it was an important commercial and hand-craft production centre. Also it was the main port on theAdriatic sea and a garrison settlement.

Upon theDecline of the Roman Empire and theMigration Period, the area was subdued by invading GermanicOstrogoths underTheodoric the Great and later by theLombards, who incorporated it into theDuchy of Friuli, part of theirItalian kingdom. With adjacentCarantania, Carnia was conquered byFrankish forces in the 774 campaign ofCharlemagne. The Friulian dukes, successors ofHrodgaud (d. 776), continued to rule asCarolingian vassals until the deposition of DukeBaldric of Friuli by EmperorLouis the Pious in 828, when it finally became a Carolingianmarch. In the 843Treaty of Verdun, the area south of the main chain of the Carnic Alps was attributed to the realm of EmperorLothair I ("Middle Francia"), it was inherited by his eldest son, KingLouis II of Italy in 855.

When in 888 MargraveBerengar I of Friuli was crownedKing of Italy, he moved his residence toVerona and established the large ItalianMarca Veronensis et Aquileiensis, comprising Friuli with Carnia, Veneto (except forVenice itself) andTrentino. In 951 Berengar's grandson KingBerengar II of Italy had to lay down arms against the invading forces of KingOtto I of Germany. At the 952Imperial Diet ofAugsburg, he had to declare himself anEast Frankish vassal, and the whole Veronese march came under the rule of the German stem duchy ofBavaria. In 976 it became part of the newly establishedDuchy of Carinthia.

Carnia and Carinthia again went separate ways, when in 1077 KingHenry IV of Germany during theInvestiture Controversy withPope Gregory VII split off large parts of Friuli to establish thePatriarchate of Aquileia as anImperial State. As the patriarchate was gradually conquered by theRepublic of Venice, Carnia had passed from theHoly Roman Empire to the VenetianDomini di Terraferma by 1420.

Italian is the official language. Nevertheless,Friulian, aRhaeto-Romance language, is widely spoken.^[2][3] The GermanSouthern Bavarian dialect is spoken in the linguistic enclaves ofSauris (Zahre),Paluzza-Timau (Tischlwang) andSappada (Plodn),^{[3][additional citation(s) needed]} as in the neighbouring regions ofVeneto (Seven Communities,Thirteen Communities) andTrentino (Luserna andMocheni Valley).

Carnia is located south of the main chain of theCarnic Alps, in the northwest of the Udine province; it is bounded to the north byAustria and to the west by the ItalianVeneto region. In the south it borders theProvince of Pordenone and in the east the Canal del Ferro-Valcanale (Ferro-Valcanale outfall) separates it from the central and southern part of the Udine province. The region covers the western part of the mountainous region of the province, but not the eastern part (theJulian Alps), therefore it borders Veneto and the Austrian state ofCarinthia, but notSlovenia. The main town isTolmezzo.

Carnia is formed of seven valleys. Through each of them runs a stream from which the valleys take their name (except for Valcalda). Each of these valleys is usually referred to as acanale (in Italian) /cjanâl (in Friulian), i.e. anoutfall, to emphasize its long and narrow shape:

• Bût valley,Val Bût or Canale di San Pietro (in Friulian:Cjanâl di Sant Pieri)^[3]
• Degano valley,Val Degano or Canale di Gorto (in Friulian:Cjanâl di Guart)^[3]
• Lumiei valley,Val Lumiei (Valade dal Lumiei)
• Tagliamento valley,Val Tagliamento (in Friulian:Cjanâl di Soclêf orPetecarie)
• Pesarina valley,Val Pesarina (in Friulian:Cjanâl Pedarç)
• Chiarsò valley,Val Chiarsò or Canale di Incaroio (in Friulian:Cjanâl di Incjaroi)
• Valcalda valley,Valcalda (in Friulian:Valcjalde orCjanâl di Monai)

Each of these valleys and their homonymous streams meet in a common valley floor where the main centre of Carnia is located:Tolmezzo

The following are the 27 municipalities of Carnia (next to the Italian name, theFriulian one is quoted):

Carnia's mountains are composed by different geologic belts. They are made of three different types of rock:limestone,dolomite andflint.

Carnia is spanned by the southern slope of theCarnic Alps, which extend fromPasso di Monte Croce di Comelico tosella di Camporosso, whereAlpi Giulie begin and rise (on the Italian side) betweenFella and the upper Isonzo rivers, and the adjacentCarnic Prealps. The north side of the Carnic ridge sets up the boundary withAustria; on the south it is delimited by the streamPontebbana, and, on the upper side ofPontebba, by the flow of the Fella. MountCoglians (m. 2780) is the highest peak of the Carnic Alps. Together with the cluster ofCreta delle Cjanevate it forms an impressive horst at the Austrian boundary. Other main peaks of Carnia are:

• Mount Peralba m 2,694
• Mount Cridola m 2,580
• Mount Fleons m 2,507
• Mount Pramaggiore m 2,479
• Mount Bìvera m 2,472
• Mount Volaia m 2,470
• Creta Forata m 2,462
• Mount Siera m 2,443
• Mount Tiarfin m 2,417
• Mount Crostis m 2,252
• Creta di Timau m 2,218
• Mount Sernio m 2,190
• Mount Tinisa m 2,120

The most important river is theTagliamento, which springs near theMauria Pass (in the municipality ofLorenzago di Cadore) at an altitude of around 1000 meters.^[3] Along its long way throughout Carnia, the Tagliamento river receives water from 6 tributaries, all coming from left with respect to it: theBût, theDegano, theLumiei, thePesarina, theChiarsò, and theMonai, which name the valleys they lie in.

Forests are large and mostly composed of fir, beech, and larch. Pastures are located mainly at high altitudes, on sunny slopes which are not suitable for agriculture.

In Carnia 2,000 vegetable species, about a thousand types ofmushrooms, and some fifty types oforchids are grown.

Vegetation in Carnia changes with altitude. Up to the elevation of 400–500 metres stand durmast and chestnut forests and some submontane cultivation zones, but very soon thereafter they are replaced by the mountain flora, typical of the forests: beechwood, fir-wood, and pine-wood. Above 1,500 m, the arboreal vegetation becomes rather poor, and trees become more and more sparse, small and stunted up to the tree line, which in Carnia stands at 1,700 metres – the lowest of the Alpine regions Further on, only bushes and emerald-green pastures can be found.

In late spring on the highland pastures, a colourful display of wildazaleas andgentians can be observed.^{[citation needed]}

The climate is severe, with very harsh winters and cool summers. It is characterised by strong winds and abundant precipitation. In comparison to the other areas of theAlps in Carnia the tree line is lower by about 400–500 m. For example, while in the Western Alps the vegetation stops growing above 2,300 m, in Carnia this is already the case at the elevation of 1,900 metres. This lower vegetation limit is due to the thermal inversion, caused by a constant outflow of a cold wind from the north-east (the "burano" wind), which reaches the region from the Danube plains and even Siberia.

In Carnia the following areas have been declared as protected:

• Friulian Dolomites Natural Park (Parco naturale delle Dolomiti Friulane), located inForni di Sopra
• Intermunicipal Park of Carnic Hills (Parco intercomunale delle Colline Carniche), located inVilla Santina

• 
  Volaia Lake
• 
  Forni Avoltri view
• 
  MountCoglians
• 
  MountPeralba
• 
  Collina,Forni Avoltri
• 
  The Church of San Pietro in Carnia

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCarnia.

• Comunità montana della Carnia
• Storia della Carnia
• Portale turistico della Carnia
• Carnia musei
• Via delle malghe carniche
• Carnia libera 1944
• Alpini della Carnia

46°23′40″N12°46′27″E / 46.3944°N 12.7742°E /46.3944; 12.7742

• Geographical, historical and cultural regions of Italy
• Province of Udine
• Geography of Friuli-Venezia Giulia
• Carnic Alps

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