Tom`s travels: Portobuffolè, Porcia, Pordenone & Villa Manin (21/08/2022)

On another nice weekend, I decided to visit a few places north of Jesolo. I started out by driving to the small town of Portobuffolé, part of the club of the most beautiful villages in Italy. I parked the car and then headed out to visit the small historic center on foot. I started out by walking over the Ponte Friuli, from 1780, which once crossed over the Livenza River, then moved out of the city to reduce the risk of floods, and now simply crossing over a moat empty of water. In front of me was then the Porta Friuli, the main city gate to the old town, that encompassed a much older defensive tower, with the lion of St Mark's symbolizing how once Venice ruled over these lands. Once through the gate, I was inside the tiny old town and I walked over to the nearby Duomo to visit its interior. Built in a late gothic style during the 16th century it was then heavily refurbished during the 19th century when it took its current form and rather modern interior. After visiting the church I took a few steps and got close to the Torre Civica, a 28m high 13th-century medieval tower with some Renaissance additions, once part of the town's castle. Nowadays it is the town's main tower and monument. Continuing onwards I walked through the pretty streets sided by arcades and elegant old buildings. One of the buildings was turned into a museum which I then proceeded to visit. The Casa Gaia da Camino was a stately residence owned by Tolberto da Camino, lord of Portobuffolè and husband of the noblewoman Gaia, who was a renowned individual at the time and also mentioned by Dante in his sixteenth canto. The building is a rare example of a 13th-century tower house still featuring traces of frescoes from the 14th and 15th centuries. After touring the interior the entrance ticket also allowed me to head back to the Torre Civica and climb to the top from where I then had a great view of the surroundings. After that it was time to move on, after getting in the car I then drove on to reach the next stop, the town of Porcia. After finding parking I headed on foot and first stopped to visit the Duomo. Dating to the 11th center, if not earlier, it was rebuilt during the 15th century and refurbished during the 19th century when it took its current mostly neogothic look. The 44m high bell tower still features the original 15th-century appearance and was supposed to be much taller but was unexpectedly interrupted at the current height. I couldn't see much of the interior as there was a mass going on so I then went back out and continued the visit of the town. Right in front of the church, together standing on a hilly area, is what was once the castle, now turned into several separate buildings from different periods. Moving onwards I then passed by the small church of Santa Maria Assunta, originally from the 14th century but rebuilt in a Renaissance style between 1555 and 1560 and refurbished in 1892 and with the nice bell tower with terracotta spire. It was unfortunately closed so I continued on, passing right by the nearby Loggia Municipale from the 16th century, where once justice was given out below its arches. Continuing onwards I walked along the main road sided by nice old buildings and houses until I reached another of the town's landmarks, the Torre dell'Orologio. This clock tower appears now as a medieval tower with battlements on top showcasing a clock but once served to defend the entrance to the town from the north. Heading out through it I then walked to the nearby park with some small lakes and where I then came upon a large Tulip tree marked as a historic tree as it is more than 100 years old. After that, I headed back to the car and drove a short way to reach the city of Pordenone. I parked the car in a parking lot right outside the old town and then continued on foot. I entered the city center from the southern side reaching then the central Pizza San Marco where the city's main monuments are located. I tried visiting the Duomo first but saw there was a mass going on so decided to swing back later when it was done. Right in front of it I then admired the beautiful Palazzo Comunale, built in the 13th century, between 1291 and 1395, and built entirely of brick. Its ground floor features an arcade loggia while the second floor is closed and holds the city council chamber. The building is then completed by a tower-like forepart surmounted by a large astronomical-lunar clock built in 1542, once topped by two stone moors that stroke the hours.

The city is known as the Urbs Picta, or painted city, as it has multiple palaces and mansions, many of which still with traces of frescoes, along the main central street. I admired most if not all of them as I made my way up said street. They ranged from medieval tower houses later adapted into palaces, to actual Renaissance and baroque Venetian-style palaces. Halfway up the street I then took one of the side streets to pass by the former gothic Convent of St. Francis, and the Chiesa del Cristo, a 14th-century church that was unfortunately closed. I then went on to admire more of the palaces until I then again took another side street that brought me to the parish church of San Giorgio, built in a neoclassical style during the 19th century with a very peculiar bell tower looking more like a large Tuscan-doric column. After having reached the northern end of the old town, I then turned around and retraced my steps, walking back along the same main street. I then arrived back at the Duomo where the mass had just finished so I was then able to visit its interior. Built between the 13th and 14th centuries in a Romanesque and Gothic style it was then refurbished between the 16th and 18th centuries. Its unfinished facade features a portal from 1511 and next to it, detached, is the beautiful bell tower nearly 80m in height, built in 1347 in romanesque-gothic style with a pinnacle from the 17th century. The interior, large and full of light featured several works by the famous artist Giovanni Antonio de' Sacchis known as Pordenone, as he was born in the city. Furthermore, there were also some nice chapels with frescoes, like the Chapel of Saints Peter and Paul, whose upper part preserves fresco decorations attributable to Gentile da Fabriano. After the visit to the church I then headed out of the old town, walked over the Noncello River, with its beautiful clear blue-green water, and reached the church of the Santissima Trinità. This 16th-century church which is said to contain a nice frescoed interior was unfortunately closed so that meant heading back to the car and on to the last stop of the day: Villa Manin located in Passariano near the town of Codroipo. After having reached the place I parked the car and then headed on foot. As I came in sight of the Villa I was immediately mesmerized by its size and beauty. The complex was built starting from the end of the 17th century and into the 18th century when it took its current later baroque aspect. It was built as a building of agricultural and residential use for the Manin noble family, as a meeting point between the movement of goods by sea and river, to the south, and those by land, specifically towards the mountains to the north and beyond. The villa was also the home of the last doge of Venice, Ludovico Manin, and a place of short residence of Napoleon Bonaparte who lived there in 1797 for about two months with Josephine Beauharnais. Many talks were conducted here for the conclusion of the treaty between France and Austria known as the Treaty of Campoformido in 1797, which tragically also marked the end of the Venetian Republic. I approached the complex from the south, walking through the large open space sided by the circular exedra and leading up to the central main building. Here I entered, and as the building's interior is mostly empty and part of it under refurbishment, I could visit the rest which was open for free. I started out by walking around the large park behind the villa, then turned into an English landscape garden in the 19th. After walking around it, I then headed back to the building and visited the only main room that was available with a large central circle featuring a fresco by Louis Dorigny with the Triumph of Spring in a Baroque scenic arrangement that also included allegories of Love, Glory, Wealth, and Abundance. Another section that could be visited was the nice stables with the original pillars and now hosting a little exhibit with historic carriages. Finally, I then visited the villa's private church, the Chapel of Sant'Andrea built in 1708 by Domenico Rossi and with impressive and elegant baroque marble altars. After the visit I had completed my trip for the day, I headed back to the car and eventually drove back to Jesolo.