Discover The Picture-Perfect Town Of Pordenone

The pretty town of Pordenone is the main comune of the province of Pordenone in the northeastern Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Settlements have dotted the surrounding area since the time of the Romans but the town of Pordenone itself was not actually established until during the Middle Ages, when it was founded as a port town on the Noncello river. In fact, the town's very name comes from the Latin Portus Naonis, meaning “port on the Noncello River”.

Like the rest of Italy, the town passed through plenty of different hands and rules throughout the ages and by the 13th century, it came into the possession of the Habsburg family. It flourished over the next few decades and gained city status in 1314. In the 16th century, it came under the rule of the Republic of Venice and a new port was built in town. Annexed to Italy in 1866, the town further flourished under industrialisation and though the failure of the cotton sector threatened the town's prosperity in the early 20th century, the raising of local firm Zanussi to the status of a world giant of household appliances after WWII helped stabilise the economic situation. In 1968, the city became the capital of the province of the same name.

This legacy of various rulers and prosperity has left its mark on the town, which is a beautiful mixture of architectural styles and eras and is dotted with palaces and other charming historic buildings. It is one of those utterly picturesque Italian towns that requires lazy wandering to take it all in and just fall in love with the place. One of the highlights of the town is the Cathedral of St. Mark, which was built in the 14th century in a Romanesque-Gothic style and restored in the 16th and 18th centuries, and houses a famous fresco by native Renaissance painter Giovanni Antonio de' Sacchis and a painting by Tintoretto, among other gems.

The aforementioned palaces in town are largely grouped along the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and boast beautiful Venetian porticoes, leading to the street being called the, "waterless Grand Canal," by some. Among them, the Gothic Communal Palace with its 16th century clock-towerby painter Pomponio Amalteo and the Palazzo Ricchieri, home to the town's Civic Art Museum, are notable. Other beautiful structures include the 12th century Castello di Torre (home to the Western Friuli Archaeological Museum) and the remains of the Roman Villa of Torre, though there are many more incredible buildings of note in town.

There is actually much more to the town beyond its pretty surface, to learn more about the many cultural gems of Pordenone, be sure to read on to the next post in this series and be sure to visit this lovely town if you have found a vacation rental in Friuli Venezia Giulia.