Town Hall, Pordenone

The guided tour on Saturday 22/10/22 was very informative both for the historical / architectural part and for the management and decision-making part of the municipal machine. I find that bringing the citizen closer to the center of municipal power and service helps to integrate, with knowledge, the user with the party elected to govern the popular demand.

The facade of the historic building is of extraordinary beauty and gives access to a tastefully modernized structure

Palace of long history well explained by the guide.

The Town Hall building, originally called lozza, was probably built at the end of the 13th century (1291 is the supposed year), in the oldest and highest part of the town, in close relationship with the Cathedral and the river port on the Noncello. The original structure, entirely in terracotta, with a trapezoidal plan, consisted of a lower loggia, open on three sides with three pointed arches on the facade and two on the sides, and a hall on an upper level. The Loggia was used for the administration of justice and for official meetings, the upper part was intended for different uses: fontego, i.e. warehouse for stocks of grain, place for keeping weapons, space for theatrical performances and entertainment, as indeed in some moments also the Loggia below. On the outer west side, traces of the two-flight staircase that led to the upper floor are still visible. From 1540 in front of the façade there was a base with a pillar that supported the antenna of the flag with the Lion of San Marco, which was then eliminated in 1885 for reasons of viability. In 1542 the façade was enriched with Gothic pinnacles and a tower-shaped forepart designed by the artist Pomponio Amalteo, a pupil and son-in-law of Pordenone, consisting of four blocks: an access arch with the coat of arms of the Lion of San Marco, a balcony for proclamations, clock and summit nut that supports the civic bell (the current one is from 1838) and two shield-bearing pages, with the coat of arms of Pordenone and that of the House of Austria, who strike the hours, popularly called "Moors". In 1626 the upper room was embellished with the painting by the artist Alessandro Varotari known as Il Padovanino depicting San Marco and Justice, commissioned specifically for this space. The same council chamber then, starting at least from 1811, housed other works of art, increased at the end of the 19th century with the donation of Michelangelo Grigoletti, which constituted the city's art gallery until the institution of the Civic Museum of Palazzo Ricchieri in 1970. At the beginning of the 1920s the council decided to expand the town hall to house the offices which were distributed in several locations within the city. In 1925 the extension was entrusted to the architect Cesare Scoccimarro who in some way tried to follow the formal characteristics of the ancient Loggia. The new building, completed in 1928, leaned against the original Loggia and, eliminating the narrow alley called "behind the loggia" or "calle Roviglio", took the place of the ruined buildings behind which were demolished. In the mid-1950s, due to the continuous growth of municipal activities, closely related to the increase in population and the pace of city life, it was decided to further expand the Town Hall. This new intervention bears the signature of the architect Ignazio Cardarella and was carried out in several stages between 1957 and 1976. Cardarella's project took the form of a "gallery with hanging arches" to the south, which develops along the external perimeter of the 'building. Also in this case the new building replaced the old and dilapidated houses that occupied the area of ​​the ancient village.

The town hall is located in a splendid location, an important and representative architectural landmark of the city of Pordenone but also one of the most popular meeting points for citizens and visitors. All the decisions and typical operational activities of the municipality start from here. Of the interior spaces, the best known area is the "Red Room" where civil unions and city meetings take place. There is a lot of information on the history of this venue and what remains to be done is a direct visit to this elegant place with harmonious lines.