Ulric von Eppenstein, Patriarch of Aquileia (1086–1121) had a fortress erected to charge tolls to travellers crossing the Alps.
The Patriarchs had to defend their territory against the claims raised by the Counts of Görz and the Dukes of Carinthia, until in 1420 the Republic of Venice conquered the Fella Valley up to Pontebba and incorporated it into the Domini di Terraferma.