Remains of Celtic and Roman settlements have been uncovered in Cividale. The city became the capital of the first Lombard duchy in the region (568). Religious authority of the territory passed from Aquileia to Cividale in about 737. Charlemagne conquered the area in 774-776. It became part of Otto's Germanic Empire in 951.
The Devil's Bridge (1422) received its name from a tradition crediting its completion to a pact with the Devil. Supposedly, a deal was made to surrender the first soul to cross the bride spanning the Natisone in return for the Devil's cooperation in the project. The townspeople sent a cat (or dog in some stories) across the bridge upon its dedication.
A craftsman's workshop has survived from the Middle Ages.
Removal of a wall during renovations revealed well-preserved terracotta sculptures (770) in the Lombard Temple (S Maria in Valle). The works of art had been enclosed when repairs were made following an earthquake in 1222.
