Pordenone in Fruili Venezia Guilia
Pordenone. This town lies 24 m. above sea level, to the right of the Moncello torrent, on the western side of the Friuli plain.
It was a Roman centre with the name of Portus Naonis, though it attained no great importance. Subsequently granted in feud to various overlords in Medieval times, it came under Austrian rule in 1278. From 1508 on Pordenone was ruled by Venice, sharing Venetian fortunes until 1797, the year in which it passed to the Hapsburgs who held it, apart from the brief Napoleonic period, until 1866 when it was united with the Kingdom of Italy. It has been chief town of the Province since 1968.
In the oldest part of the town, which until the last century was surrounded by walls, stand the principal Monuments: along Corso Vittorio Emanuele lie many buildings with porticos of varying dates, including Palazzo Tinti (18th century), Palazzo Gregoris (18th century), Palazzo Policreti (16th century), Palazzo Comunale (13th to 14th century, Gothic building) with Torre dell'Orologio (16th century), Duomo (15th century, late Gothic) with bell tower (79 m., Romanesque-Gothic), Church of S. Maria degli Angeli (14th century).
This is the main industrial town in Friuli. There are many companies of all sizes in the electromechanical (household appliances), engineering, textile, paper, ceramics (bathroom suites), chemical, furniture and food industries. Pordenone is also an important commercial centre especially for agricultural produce from the surrounding countryside (wines, cereals, vegetables, fruit).
Events: International Trades Fair (September), Regional Craftwork Salon (December), Radioham Fair (April).
Famous People: Giovanni Antonio Sacchiense called `il Pordenone' (artist, 1484-1559), Odorico Matiussi (explorer, 1236-1331).
Cultural Institutions: Civic library, Civic Museum (art gallery), Natural History Museum, Archaeological Museum.
In the Province: Sacile (interesting historical centre and 15th century Duomo), Cordenons, Spilimbergo, Maniago (cutlery manufacture), San Vito al Tagliamento (textile industry, Museum of peasant life), Piancavallo (ski resort), Sesto al Reghena (museum of the Abbey of S. Maria in Sylvis).
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