Fruili, the area near the Yugoslavian and Austrian borders, is a gastronomic island with precisely defined features and customs. One requires all the numerous taverns in the area to keep a large pot of minestrone with barley constantly bubbling in a corner of the open fire. Patrons come in at any hour of the day to drink a bottle of wine (and in Fruili the drinking is excellent) accompanied by a bowl of minestrone. Traditional recipes always called for a ham bone to be kept in the pot to enhance the flavor. Today there is a tendency to lighten the dish, but without altering the flavors of old.
