Pordenone

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" (Humid Subtropical Climate).[4]

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 (though Venetian features can be found there as well).[6]

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".[7]

Foreign citizens living in Pordenone amount to 7,025 persons, making 13.7% of the town population. The ten largest ethnic minorities are listed as follows:[8]

• Cathedral of St. Mark (Duomo) 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 (commonly known as Il Pordenone). 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 79-metre (259 ft) 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(fourteenth-century fresco of the school of Vitale da Bologna)
• Parish Church of San George. Neoclassical church, characterized by the nineteenth-century bell tower, column Doric (architect Giovanni Battista Bassi).
• The church of the Santissima Trinità ("Holy Trinity"), 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.[9]
• 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'.

The town has many mansions and palaces, in particular along the ancient "Greater Contrada", today Corso Vittorio Emanuele II (wonderful example of Venetian porticoes and called by some small "waterless Grand Canal"). Below is a list of the most important in terms of architectural and artistic.

• The Gothic Communal Palace (1291–1395). 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.

Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, the main street in the historical center of Pordenone

• 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.

• Castello di Torre (late 12th century), 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.

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

In the city there are nine buildings protected by the Regional Institute Venetian Villas (IRVV). Worthy of note are:

• Villa Cattaneo, the Gaspera, (seventeenth century), which is characterized by a high arched pediment (Villanova of Pordenone);
• Villa Cattaneo, Cirielli Barbini, probably dating back to 700 (Vallenoncello of Pordenone).

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.

The main roads serving Pordenone are the Autostrada A28 and the Strada statale 13 Pontebbana (SS13).

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.[10]

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.

Monfalcone-Trieste and Venice-Treviso (TSF) Airport are the nearest air connectivity, approximately 75 kilometres (47 miles) away from the city.

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.[18]

Pordenone has been the primary host to the 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.[19]

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.[20][21] 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.

Located in the Pastoral Activities Centre, designed by Othmar Barth (1988), retains a remarkable artistic heritage from churches and religious buildings of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Concordia-Pordenone.

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.

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 (or stilt house) of Palù di Livenza (UNESCO World Heritage Site – Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps).

The museum is housed in a Venetian villa of the city park, once owned by industrialist Galvani. In its rooms it houses paintings by Mario Sironi, Renato Guttuso, Corrado Cagli, Alberto Savinio, Filippo de Pisis, Giuseppe Zigaina, Armando Pizzinato and many others.

Two Italian daily newspapers have a local edition:

• Messaggero Veneto - Giornale del Friuli
• Il Gazzettino

Pordenone is twinned with:

• Spittal an der Drau, Austria, since 1987
• San Martín, Argentina, since 2003
• Irkutsk, Russia, since 2005
• Ōkawa, Japan

• Stefano Lombardi (born 1976 in Pordenone), Italian footballer
• Luca Rossetti (born 1976), Italian rally driver
• Marzia Caravelli (born 1981), Italian hurdler. She represented Italy at two Olympics.
• Daniele Molmentii (born 1984 in Pordenone), Italian slalom canoeist
• Federico Gerardi (born 1987), Italian footballer
• Reggie Jackson (born 1990), American professional basketball player
• Nicola de Marco (born 1990), Italian racing driver
• Alessia Trost (born 1993), Italian female Olympic high jumper.
• Ivan Provedel (born 1994), professional football goalkeeper