My tour of Udine begins in its historical heart, the Piazza della Libertà, which dates back to the early 1400s, when the city was conquered and became part of the Republic of Venice, a state of affairs that endured for almost four centuries. Atop a tall column, the noble Lion of Venice looks down on those strolling in the piazza, much like Nelson in London’s Trafalgar Square, while the centrepiece Torre dell’Orologio, lined by shady porticos, is almost a carbon copy of the clock tower in Venice’s Piazza San Marco.

The Venetians built a massive castle just above Udine’s piazza and a bubbling Renaissance fountain, and this classical composition is completed by the Loggia del Lionello, a pastel pink marble palazzo that is the home of the town hall. But this is only part of Udine’s diverse cultural influences, because after Napoleon swept the Venetians aside, Friuli officially became Habsburg, part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the end of World War I.

To get a feeling for this, I wander over to the edge of the piazza and grab a table at Caffè Contarena, a Viennese-style salon decorated in classic Jugendstil (art nouveau), with ornate art deco mosaics and chandeliers, serving irresistible hot chocolate and delicious sachertorte, wicked negroni cocktails and mellow oak-aged grappa made by the women distillers of the local Nonino family.

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And for those who visit in April, Udine reserves a final, multiethnic surprise. For the past 24 years, Friuli’s capital has played host to the Far East Film Festival, a funky alternative to the likes of Cannes that devotes itself to showcasing the talent and latest movies coming out of East Asia. Walk into Caffè Contarena at lunchtime during the festival and the lounge is teeming with actors, directors and movie moguls from Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. And on this occasion, they all seem delighted to be discovering Udine.

“It took me 24 hours of different flights to get here but it is already worth it after my first Italian meal,” enthuses Philippine diva Sheila Francisco, who plays the lead role in the comedy-drama Leonor Will Never Die. This is her first visit to Italy and the actress is planning a three-week stay. “The food is so wonderful, and we get to discover all these surprising local dishes – frico, irresistible deep-fried cheese and potatoes; gnocchi stuffed with plums; melt-in-the-mouth San Daniele prosciutto – not what I was expecting!

“After […] the festival is over, I have decided to give Venice a miss. I really don’t want to find myself in the midst of huge crowds of tourists, so have decided to go off the beaten track and explore another part Friuli, just an hour’s train ride away, the port of Trieste.”

One of the supporting actors in Leonor, Bong Cabrera has just arrived from working on a project in Berlin, “and Udine is a totally different experience from the big cities, so quiet and relaxed”.

“Whenever I arrive somewhere new I master the public transport system rather than take tour guides and taxis,” he says. “Here they have a great bike rental system where the first half-hour is free, so I just hop on and off between attending movie screenings.”

Young Chinese writer and director Hou Zuxin, whose The Italian Recipe is one of the hits of the festival, has her own methods of exploration: “My perfect recipe to discover Udine is running every morning at 7.30, when hardly anyone is out and about. I run faster than at home in Beijing as there is so much to see here; the ancient palaces and huge churches, narrow cobbled backstreets, and I love jogging along the maze of beautiful tiny canals that crisscross the city.

“I’ve been spending a lot of time in Rome filming The Italian Recipe, but have never come to Udine before. It is such a difference from the big touristy cities, no crowds and so romantic.”

Even more enthusiastic is Adrian Teh, from Kuala Lumpur and director of Malaysian thriller The Assistant: “This is such a lovely town! I immediately fell in love with it and honestly I can imagine myself buying a place and living here when I retire. The people are so welcoming, and the surrounding countryside looks beautiful. The archi­tec­ture and relaxed pace of life is so different to what I have seen in Rome or Milan.”

Apparent to all is that, in Udine, you can visit all the sights and museums without having to stand in long queues or push though crowds to get a good view of a painting.

The contemporary art centre, Casa Cavazzini, is housed in a 16th century palazzo but showcases innovative local artists as well as blockbuster temporary exhibitions featuring the likes of Monet, Cézanne and Kandinsky, while in what was once the bishop of Udine’s opulent mansion, the Diocesan Museum has a gallery decorated with Tiepolo frescoes that transport the visitor to a fantasy 18th century world. Through the arcades lining Via Mercatovecchio, between fashion and jewellery boutiques, there is a hidden treasure, a discrete glass door that allows visitors a glimpse into the minuscule chapel of Santa Maria del Monte di Pietà, a riot of 500-year-old frescoes and rococo sculptures.

Sightseeing comes to a close at the end of the afternoon, when the important business of an early aperitivo has Udine in its grip. The organisers of the Far East Film Festival, Sabrina Baracetti and Thomas Bertacche say, “Everyone starts partying in Piazza Matteotti, what we call Udine’s ‘drawing room’, filled with cafe terraces. And don’t bother looking for happy-hour signs as a glass of tajut wine only costs €1 (US$1) .”

For dinner, traditional trattoria serve hearty, affordable plates of regional specialities such as cjarsons (stuffed potato pasta), ravioli filled with spinach and ricotta; tagliatelle with a rich wild boar sauce; crispy pork knuckle and creamy mashed potato.

The ebullient owner of Hostaria alla Tavernetta, Roberto Romano, proposes pairing local wines – such as a crisp, fruity ribolla gialla – with raw asparagus topped with a poached egg or a full-bodied schioppettino with succulent beef goulash.

Although you can plan a whole holiday around discovering Friuli’s beaches, lagoon wetlands, mountains and vineyards, it is possible to get a first impression by organising a half-day excursion into Udine’s surroundings. And Hong Kong actress, director and singing star Josie Ho Chiu-yi is doing just that, explaining that, “Usually when you attend a film festival it is all work, work, work, and you rarely get to know anything about where you are staying. This is my first trip outside Hong Kong since Covid began, and I’m determined to have some fun!

“At one point during lockdown, I was meant to fly out to the Midwest, in America, to film with Bruce Willis in what would have been his final film before retiring, but I had a bad feeling so just before take-off, I decided to get off the plane and turn down the role – what a panic that caused at the airport!”

Organising Ho’s excursion puts the locals into something of a panic, too, as two minivans are needed to transport not just her and her husband, actor and rapper Conroy Chan Chi-chung, but an entourage consisting of two make-up artists, a hair stylist, an assistant tasked with videoing the escapade for Instagram and a serious-looking French bodyguard.

Just outside Udine’s historic centre and we’re already in the midst of green fields, thick forests and carefully tended vineyards. The first stop is a 20-minute drive away, in the ancient village of San Daniele, which gave its name to one of the world’s most famous dry-cured hams.

Chan is excited at the prospect of visiting an artisan prosciutteria: “It is definitely fate that has brought me on this trip, because, even though Josie may not know, the ham I buy for us in Hong Kong is only from San Daniele, never the more well-known Parma or Spanish Serrano. But what a difference between buying it in the supermarket and coming here to find out how it is actually made! I will definitely be dining out on stories of this trip.”

At the Casa del Prosciutto Alberti, fifth-generation prosciutto master Marco Alberti conducts a tour that starts with the salting of the giant 15kg pork legs and continues through ageing cellars in which the meat is kept for up to 18 months before reaching the final chamber, where the ham is cured, mountain and sea breezes entering through open windows to give San Daniele prosciutto its unique sweet flavour.

While Chan swoons to the aromas of the prosciutto hanging in the ageing rooms, Ho literally “hams it up” by pretending to take giant bites of a pork leg. At the end of the tour, the group sits down for the best part, tasting the different kinds of aged ham.

On the way back to Udine, the road passes a towering castle atop a hillside. Locals forage for mushrooms in the surrounding woods. A sign bearing the words “Azienda del Poggio” signals the entrance to a vineyard on which stands a romantic stone farmhouse and wine cellar. The first buds of the grapes are just appearing and, after a bracing walk through the vines, everyone heads inside for a tasting.

Ho orders cases of Poggio bubbly to be sent home and admits that, “I can’t wait now to tell my friends in Hong Kong what it is like to visit an Italian winery. Everything changes when you have seen the vines growing in the fields surrounded by wild flowers, then explore the chilly cellar filled with steel vats and wood barrels, and finally taste the wine itself next to a roaring fire with plates of salami and local cheeses to feast from.”

As the minibuses are readied for departure, Poggio’s owner, Cristina Cigolotti, mentions that there are guest rooms in the winery.

“Book me in for a nice long stay,” says Chan, “and I will write my next movie script surrounded by peace and quiet.”

With a mischievous glint in her eye, Ho says, “I can just imagine filming a horror movie here – it is the perfect location!”