On December 4, 1302 the Patriarch of Aquileia Ottobono de’ Razzi conceded to Baron Wilhelm von Waldsee, Viscount of Mels, knight from an ancient Swabian lineage, the right to construct a new castle “de novo et facere domum magnam” on a hill which belonged to the family near the ancestral Castle of Mels. Construction of the castle, “six paces high and two arm-lengths thick”, was completed after Wilhelm’s death by his three sons Asquino, Bernardo and Vicardo who were the first to assume the surname of Colloredo Mels Waldsee.
The castle is a typical example of a “residential” castle constructed in the middle of the estate in order to provide a stable and secure dwelling. Enlarged throughout the centuries, the Castle of Colloredo underwent a slow but constant substitution of defensive characteristics with those more residential.
Richly decorated by Giovanni da Udine in the middle of the 16th century, its famous small study is one of the artistic high points of the castle, architecturally speaking a reference point for Friuli.
[from the official website https://consorziocastelli.it/castles/udine/colloredo?set_language=en]
