Portogruaro
Comune
Comune di Portogruaro
Piazza della Repubblica, the main square, with the Town Hall.
Coat of arms
Location of Portogruaro
Portogruaro Location of Portogruaro in Italy Show map of Italy Portogruaro Portogruaro (Veneto) Show map of Veneto
Coordinates: 45°47′N 12°50′E / 45.783°N 12.833°E / 45.783; 12.833
Country	Italy
Region	Veneto
Metropolitan city	Venice (VE)
Frazioni	Giussago, Lison, Lugugnana, Portovecchio, Pradipozzo, Summaga
Government
• Mayor	Florio Favero (Lega Nord)
Area [1]
• Total	102.31 km2 (39.50 sq mi)
Elevation	5 m (16 ft)
Population  (31 December 2014)[2]
• Total	25,219
• Density	250/km2 (640/sq mi)
Demonym	Portogruaresi
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	30026
Dialing code	0421
Patron saint	Saint Andrew
Saint day	30 November
Website	Official website

Portogruaro (Venetian: Porto, Friulian: Puart) is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Venice, Veneto, northern Italy. The city is the centre of a district, made up of 11 comuni, which form the Venezia Orientale with the San Donà di Piave district.

History

Portogruaro was officially founded in 1140, when the Archbishop of Concordia, Gervinus, gave a group of fishermen (Giovanni Venerio, Arpone, Bertaldo, Borigoio, Enrico Mosca, Giovanni Salimbene) the right to settle there and build a river port. A castle had existed on the site as early as the 10th century. In 1420, after centuries under Patria del Friuli, was conquered by the Republic of Venice. According to Bertolini the town's foundation could be coeval to the Concordia Sagittaria's one. Under the Venetians the town retained some autonomy and was able to expand economically up until the economic decline of Venice from the 17th century onwards.

Following the upheavals of the Napoleonic Wars, Portogruaro was incorporated into the Austrian Empire in 1815. Apart from a brief uprising in 1848 Portogruaro remained under Austrian control until 1866 when it entered the newly unified Kingdom of Italy. Since that time the population of Portogruaro has grown from under 10,000 to around 25,000.^[3]

Main sights

• Romanesque Abbey of Summaga (11th century). The church, built in 1211, has an 18th-century façade. The sacellum has frescoes from the 11th–12th centuries, depicting the Redemption, The Original Sin, The Punishment of Adam and Eve, the Crucifixion and the Final Judgement. The apse is also frescoed.
• Cathedral of Saint Andrea and Bell Tower
• Church of Saint Luis
• Church of Saint John
• Oratory of Visitation
• Town Hall, a Gothic building from 1265, with a façade including later additions (c. 1512). It houses three paintings by Luigi Russolo.
• Mills on the Lemene river (12th century)
• Church of Sant'Agnese (13th century)
• Communal Villa, a 16th-century patrician residence
• A series of 14th–15th-century palaces

The Roman and medieval city of Concordia Sagittaria was located nearby.

• The Acco Super Bulldozer is located in Portogruaro as well.

Economy

A former large phosphates producer is now closed. The Camuffo Boatyard, founded in 1438, is one of the oldest industries in the world.

Transport

• Portogruaro-Caorle railway station

Sport

The local football club is called Calcio Portogruaro Summaga, founded in 1990, and plays in the third Italian league (Lega Pro).

Notable people

• Antonio Carnio, 17th-century painter
• Nicolò Bettoni (1770-1842), editor (published Dei sepolcri by Ugo Foscolo)
• Lorenzo Buffon (1929-), goalkeeper
• Lorenzo Da Ponte (1749-1838), poet and librettist
• Giulio Camillo Delminio (1480-1544), humanist and philosopher
• Fortunato Pasquetti (1690-1773), painter
• Luigi Russolo (1885-1947), composer and painter

Twin towns

• Marmande, France, since 1987
• Ejea de los Caballeros, Spain, since 1987

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Portogruaro.

• Official website
• Webcam in Piazza della Repubblica
• Satellite image from Google Maps
• Museo Nazionale Concordiese in Portogruaro