Palmanova or Cervignano: the fortress town with the hospital or the railway town, between Udine and the sea

Palmanova is the Venetian fortress town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, with its hospital and the A4 motorway junction 2 min away; Cervignano, larger (13,784 residents against 5,311), is the service town of the Bassa, with 11 supermarkets against 4. Full profiles: Palmanova and Cervignano del Friuli.

• Emergencies: in Palmanova the 24-hour emergency department is in town; from Cervignano the same hospital is 17 min away, and the next nearest is Monfalcone. The nearest major hospital for serious cases is Udine: 25 min from Palmanova, 34 min from Cervignano (the hospital network).
• Trains: both have trains to Udine without changes. From Cervignano-Aquileia-Grado station, on Friday 23 October 2026, 74 trains left in all, to Trieste and Venice as well.
• Sea: Grado's beach is 25 min from Cervignano; from Palmanova the handiest sandy beach is Marina Julia, 29 min.
• Residents: Cervignano is growing and younger (47.6 against 49.3); Palmanova's incomes are a little higher (€26,200 against €25,000).

• Palmanova: inside the walls €900/m²–€1,350/m², in the hamlets (Sottoselva, Jalmicco, Palmada) €800/m²–€1,050/m²; since 2021, zone for zone, no movement. In 2025 sales fell to 62 (-18.0%).
• Cervignano: centre €860/m²–€1,200/m², outskirts €750/m²–€1,050/m²; since 2021 -0.5% in the centre and +5.9% on the outskirts. Sales in 2025: 197, or 2.7% of all homes.
• Transfer of ownership: Cervignano uses the land register («libro fondiario») and ownership passes on registration; Palmanova does not (what changes).
• Water: the share of buildings ISPRA rates at medium flood hazard is 13.7% in Palmanova and 7.1% in Cervignano (reading the risk).

This is where the two towns really part. In Palmanova ILIA on homes other than the main residence is at the permitted maximum, 1.06%; in Cervignano it is 0.76%, the lowest standard rate set anywhere in the region, and 0.46% on a home lent free of charge to a child or parent who lives in it. On the «second home» you have named to the Region as your first, though, both councils charge the same 0.70%. Cervignano also sits on the high housing pressure list, which brings the flat tax on regulated leases down to 10%; in Palmanova they pay 21%, like market lets.

The sums for 80 m² at OMI values, with the same hypothetical cadastral income of €500, per year and before service charges and upkeep:

At market rent the net is level: Palmanova's higher rent goes almost entirely on ILIA. If the flat is your first «second home», however, ILIA is the same in both towns and at market rent Palmanova moves ahead again: €2,484 against €2,233. With a regulated lease Cervignano pulls ahead, and at the 5% rate proposed in the 2027 budget bill it would reach €2,914. Note that a regulated rent cannot exceed the values set by the local agreement, so the real sum is done home by home (what a let really earns).