Pordenone


Pordenone is a city and comune in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the capital of the regional decentralization entity of Pordenone.
The name comes from Latin Portus Naonis, meaning "port on the Noncello River".
WWW comune.pordenone.it

History

Pordenone was created at the beginning of the High Middle Ages as a river port on the Noncello, with the name Portus Naonis. In the area, however, there were already villas and agricultural settlements from the Roman age, especially in the area of the town of Torre.
Between 1257 and 1270 Pordenone was conquered by Ottokar II of Bohemia, who was eventually defeated in 1277, when the city was brought back to the Empire, under Rodolph I of Habsburg.
In 1278, after having been administered by several feudatories, the city was handed over to the Habsburg family, forming an Austrian enclave within the territory of the Patriarchal State of Friuli. In the 14th century, Pordenone grew substantially due to the flourishing river trades, gaining the status of city in December 1314.
In 1508, after the failed invasion of the Republic of Venice by Emperor Maximilian, the city was seized by Venice. Despite temporary Austrian occupation during the subsequent War of the League of Cambrai, the Venetian sovereignty over Pordenone was confirmed in 1516. Until 1537, the town was ruled by the feudal family d'Alviano, as a reward for Bartolomeo d'Alviano's military service to the Republic. Under Venice a new port was built and the manufacturers improved.
After the Napoleonic period, Pordenone was included in the Austrian possessions in Italy. The railway connection, including Pordenone railway station, and the construction of the Pontebbana road brought on the decline of the port, but spurred substantial industrial development. Pordenone was annexed to Italy in 1866.
The cotton sector decayed after the damage of World War I and failed completely after the 1929 crisis. After World War II, the local Zanussi firm became a world giant of household appliances, and in 1968, Pordenone became capital of the province with the same name, including territory belonging to Udine.
After World War II, Pordenone, as well as the rest of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, became a garrison for many military units, in order to prevent a socialist Yugoslavian invasion from the east.
The heavy military presence boosted the economy of the once-depressed area.
Pordenone is as now garrison of the 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete".

Geography

The territory of Pordenone is located in the lowlands of the Po-Venetian Valley, south of Venetian Prealps and the Alpine foothills of Friuli.
The lowlands of Pordenone is characterized by an abundance of water and by the "phenomenon" of resurgence.

Climate

Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen climate classification subtype for this climate is "Cfa".

Society

Demographic evolution


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Foreign ethnicities and minorities

There were 7,876 foreigners residing in Pordenone as of January 1, 2025, representing 15.1% of the resident population..
The ten largest ethnic minorities are listed as follows:
  1. , 1,768
  2. , 849
  3. , 818
  4. , 552
  5. , 428
  6. , 360
  7. , 259
  8. , 231
  9. , 162
  10. , 143

Local languages and dialects

In ancient times, the Friulian language was spoken in Pordenone. Under the Venetian rule the Venetian language – closer to modern standard Italian – was subsequently introduced in a form which developed into the modern days Pordenone dialect. The town is surrounded by Friulian-speaking communities.
However, Friulian is protected in town in accordance with the Regional Law of December 18, 2007, n. 29, "Norms for the protection, promotion and enhancement of the Friulian language".

Economy

Pordenone is renowned above all for the production of ceramics and terracotta.
The city, which has always been an agricultural area, developed significantly in the nineteenth century in the textile sector, in parallel with the industrial revolution and industrial development accompanies the post-war period.
Following the 2007 global financial crisis, Pordenone experienced a deepening economic crisis. This was compounded by several factors, including, on the one hand, the country's uncompetitiveness, labor costs, poor infrastructure, overly expensive energy, and a lack of funding for innovation.
The city's decline is being countered by the fact that Pordenone has diversified industrial sectors, divided into industrial districts, made up of small and medium-sized enterprises capable, through innovation and resourcefulness, of facing the crisis and being architects of the revitalization of the area. In 2022 the most important companies operate in the household appliances sector, as well as metalworking, furniture, and food industries.

Monuments and places of interest

Religious buildings

  • Cathedral of St. Mark was built from 1363 in Romanesque-Gothic style and restored in the 16th and 18th centuries. It houses a famous fresco of San Rocco and an altarpiece depicting the Virgin of Mercy by the native Renaissance painter Giovanni Antonio de' Sacchis. Also inside the church are preserved the baptistery and the font by Giovanni Antonio Pilacorte, some fragments of frescoes of the circle of Gentile da Fabriano and a painting by Tintoretto. It has a bell tower.
  • Church of St. Mary of the Angels, also known as Church of the wooden Christ. The church was built in 1309 and it is characterized by an entrance portal in Istrian stone by Giovanni Antonio Pilacorte. Inside the sacred building they are kept a crucifix dating from the 1466 of Johannes Teutonicus and remains of a cycle of fourteenth-century frescoes. They are worthy of mention: the Saint Barbara by Gianfrancesco da Tolmezzo and the Our Lady of Sorrows, fresco from the first half of the fourteenth century. On the left wall of the church it is possible to admire a Madonna of humility
  • Parish Church of San George. Neoclassical church, characterized by the nineteenth-century bell tower, column Doric.
  • The church of the Santissima Trinità, alongside the Noncello river. It has an octagonal plant and frescoes by Giovanni Maria Calderari, pupil of Il Pordenone.
  • Church of Blessed Odoric of Pordenone, built by architect Mario Botta in 1990–1992.
  • Church of S. Ulderico, located in Villanova suburb. Contains frescoes by Il Pordenone and the font and baptistery are by Giovanni Antonio Pilacorte.
  • Parish Church of St. Lawrence Martyr, in the frazione of Roraigrande, contains the baptismal font of Renaissance sculptors Donato and Alvise Casella. Inside it is possible to admire a cycle of frescoes by Giovanni Antonio de 'Sacchis'.

Secular buildings

The town has many mansions and palaces, in particular along the ancient "Greater Contrada", today Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. Below is a list of the most important in terms of architectural and artistic.
  • The Gothic Communal Palace. The clock-tower of the loggia, designed by painter Pomponio Amalteo, was added in the 16th century to the main building.Palazzo Ricchieri: Built in the 13th century as a house fortress with a tower, it was rebuilt to house the Ricchieri family. It now houses the Civic Art Museum.
  • Palazzo Polacco – Barbarich – Scaramuzza.
  • Palazzo Rorario – Spelladi – Silvestri, headquarters of the municipal gallery "Harry Bertoia".
  • Palazzo Mantica – Cattaneo.
  • Palazzo Mantica.
  • Palazzo Gregoris.
  • Casa Gregoris – Bassani.
  • Palazzo Varmo – Pomo, also known as House of the Captains.
  • Palazzo Crescendolo – Milani.
  • Palazzo Popaite – Torriani – Policreti.
  • Casa Simoni.
  • Casa Pittini.
  • Palazzo Domenichini – Varaschini.
  • Palazzo Rosittis.
  • Palazzo De Rubeis.

Castles

Castello di Torre, residence of the Ragogna family and now seat of the Western Friuli Archaeological Museum. It was assaulted in 1402 by Imperial troops, who destroyed the castle. A few years later a tower was rebuilt.
  • Castle of the ancient town of Pordenone, located in Piazza della Motta, now a prison.

Archaeological site

  • Roman Villa of Torre, remains of a patrician villa discovered in the 1950s.

Venetian villas

In the city there are nine buildings protected by the Regional Institute Venetian Villas. Worthy of note are:
  • Villa Cattaneo, the Gaspera,, which is characterized by a high arched pediment ;
  • Villa Cattaneo, Cirielli Barbini, probably dating back to 700.

Industrial archeology

The urban conglomerate of Pordenone is characterized by the presence of the ruins of the industries dating back to the nineteenth century, examples of industrial archeology.

Infrastructure and transport

Road

The main roads serving Pordenone are the Autostrada A28 and the Strada statale 13 Pontebbana.

Bus

The local transportation company in Pordenone is called ATAP. It provides ten "urban routes", which serve the municipal territory and all surrounding neighborhoods, and several "extraurban routes" which cover the whole Pordenone province, about twenty of them connecting the town directly with other destinations, including Aviano, the Venice International Airport and Lignano Sabbiadoro.

Railway

Pordenone railway station, opened in 1855, is located on the Venice–Udine railway. Although it is not a junction or terminal station, it is used by 3 million passengers a year.

Air

Trieste Airport and Venice-Treviso Airport are the nearest air connectivity, approximately away from the city.

Education

As concerns public general education, Pordenone hosts nine kindergartens, twelve primary schools, four first grade secondary schools, the Flora Professional School of Commerce, Culinary Studies, Hospitality Training and Social Services, the Zanussi Professional School of Industry and Crafts, the Matiussi High School of Economics, two Schools of Technologies. The licei in town are Grigoletti Scientific High School and Leopardi-Majorana High School of Classics and Science. Alongside public schools, some private schools also exist in Pordenone.
Pordenone hosts a local branch of the University of Trieste, whose didactic includes a double degree Master study program in Production Engineering and Management with the University of Lippe, Germany. Other curricula include B.Sc. courses in Multimedial Sciences & Technologies and Nursing and a M.Sc. course in Multimedia Communication and IT, offered by the University of Udine.
The university building on Via Prasecco was designed by Japanese architect Toyo Ito.

Sport

Pordenone is home to the Ottavio Bottecchia Stadium, on via dello Stadio, a multipurpose 3,000-seats facility once serving as a soccer field for the local team, Pordenone Calcio which is now playing at Stadio Omero Tognon, stadium of the city of Fontanafredda, and still as velodrome used for both national and international track cycling competitions. In 2001, the facility hosted one round of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup. It is considered one of the most important outdoor velodromes in the world.
The site of the stadium includes tennis courts as well as an athletics field.
Birthplace of accomplished NBA player Reggie Jackson.
Volleyball Cornacchia World Cup since 1983 - U19 / U17 in Pordenone

Culture

Literature

Pordenone has hosted every year, for more than a decade, the book festival pordenonelegge.it, which includes book stalls being placed all over the town center, as well as interviews with Italian and international authors and lectures by journalists and scholars.

Film

Pordenone has been the primary host to the Le Giornate del cinema muto, a festival of silent film, since 1981, excepting an eight-year lapse after the host theater, Cinema-Teatro Verdi, was being demolished and rebuilt. The nearby town of Sacile hosted the festival from 1999 to 2006.
Pordenone is also home to the FMK International Short Film Festival.

Music

In the 1980s, Pordenone was the hub of the Italian punk rock scene.
Punk-rock band Prozac+ and alternative rock band Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti were formed in the 1990s in Pordenone. And in 2005 the Reggae band Mellow Mood was formed in Pordenone.
Since 1991, the town has hosted each summer the Pordenone Blues Festival, expanding its scope in 2010 encompassing the fields of performing arts, literature and visual arts. Notable guests over the years include Kool & the Gang, Steve Hackett, Rival Sons, Anastacia, Ronnie Jones and Ana Popović. Performers playing at this festival include artists based in Italy, Germany, Slovenia, Spain, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary and other countries.

Museums and galleries

Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art – Diocese of Concordia-Pordenone

Located in the Pastoral Activities Centre, designed by Othmar Barth, retains a remarkable artistic heritage from churches and religious buildings of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Concordia-Pordenone.

Town Art Museum

The museum is housed in the Palazzo Ricchieri, an important place to understand the art of Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. In it houses works by various painters, such as Pordenone, P. Amalteo, Varotari, Pietro della Vecchia, O. Politi and Michelangelo Grigoletti.

Archaeological Museum of Western Friuli

The museum, housed since 2006 in the ancient castle of the Torre of Pordenone, the last residence of Count Giuseppe di Ragogna, illustrates the archaeological heritage of the province of Pordenone. Of particular significance are the finds from the caves Pradis and pile-dwelling of Palù di Livenza.

Newspapers

Two Italian daily newspapers have a local edition:Messaggero Veneto – Giornale del Friuli

Tourisms

Pordenone is also the starting point for the province of Pordenone with its numerous sights. Extensive tourist information is provided by Pordenone Turismo.
Since 2022, the Pordenone Greeters offer free tours for guests of the city and province. The group is a member of the international Greeter network.

Twin towns – sister cities

Pordenone is twinned with:

Notable people

Sport