Safari in the city

Fish, starfish, shells, seaweed and coral adorn the fountain in the gardens of the Centro Studi. These are the motifs of the mosaic that decorates the fountain, commissioned by the City Council in 1954 from the architect Mariano Pittana (1908–1986).

The architectural complex is one of the symbolic places of the city’s post-war reconstruction after the Second World War. Today it houses the Liceo “Giacomo Leopardi – Ettore Majorana”, and its original assembly hall has been converted into a cinema, now home to the Cinemazero Association.

The mosaic design, simple and essential in style, was conceived by the Pordenone-born artist Mario Moretti (1917–2008), while its execution was entrusted to the Scuola Mosaicisti del Friuli in Spilimbergo, a leading institution in the regional artistic scene.

Dove si trova: Piazza Maestri del Lavoro, 33170 Pordenone PN

At the top of the bell tower, on a giant column of Istrian stone designed by the Pordenone-born architect, mathematician and meteorologist Giovanni Battista Bassi (1792–1879), the mythical battle unfolds between the dragon threatening the life of the princess and Saint George, who pierces it with his lance.
The bronze statue of the martyr, due to repeated structural issues, has been raised and lowered from the top of this unusual bell tower three times: in 1914, 1962 and 2019. It now rises again to its full height of six metres, above four giants supporting a sphere with a diameter of three and a half metres.

Dove si trova: Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 31, 33170 Pordenone PN

Stretched out along Vicolo delle Acque lies a gigantic white gorilla. It is Copito de Nieve, the albino gorilla who is the protagonist of the graphic novel by Davide Toffolo, a cartoonist from Pordenone and frontman of the band “Tre allegri ragazzi morti”.

The albino gorilla really did exist: discovered in Equatorial Guinea in 1966, he lived until 2003 at Barcelona Zoo. During his lifetime, he became a global celebrity and a source of inspiration even for the writer Italo Calvino (1923–1985), who made him the protagonist of the short story “The Albino Gorilla”.

Painted on the rear wall of a tall block of flats, the mural transforms the alleyway into an open-air gallery.

Dove si trova: Vicolo delle Acque, 33170 Pordenone PN

Along Vicolo delle Acque, near a clothing shop, several oversized bees are depicted building a honeycomb. The mural was created by Giulio Masieri in 2021.

In nature, bees live in healthy environments and our ecosystem depends on them; they therefore also represent respect for the environment and the earth. Since 2020, Masieri and other muralists have brought to life dozens of giant animals. Cats, dogs, barn owls, fish, butterflies… populate the walls of buildings in the Torre district of Pordenone. The project is called "AnimaLeVie".

Dove si trova: Vicolo delle Acque, 33170 Pordenone PN

At number 26 of Via Vittorio Emanuele II, if you look up while standing under the portico, you can spot a small opening: it is the peephole of Palazzo Suja-Candiani. The portico offered shelter, but also made the entrance more vulnerable to ambushes or unwanted visitors. For this reason, some medieval and Renaissance buildings were fitted with openings that allowed residents to check who was approaching the entrance.

Next to the shop door on the ground floor, you can see a metal knob that was once connected to an internal bell.

Together, these two devices functioned like an an primitive video intercom system.

Dove si trova: Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 26, 33170 Pordenone PN

In the small portico next to the sacristy there is a large mosaic depicting two scenes from the life of St Francis. On the left, the saint is speaking to the birds, who are listening intently. On the right, St Francis receives the stigmata.

The work is based on famous frescoes by Giotto and was created in 2007 by the Scuola Mosaicisti del Friuli in Spilimbergo, using around 150,000 tiles.

Opposite, a small permanent nativity scene reminds you that it was Saint Francis who, in Greccio in 1223, created the first representation of the Nativity.

Dove si trova: Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 51, 33170 Pordenone PN

Along Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, not far from one another, you will find three lions that gaze down with regal bearing from their long history. The first is the golden lion of the Counts of Gorizia; the second, slightly more hidden, is the rampant lion of the Counts of Spilimbergo; the third is the red lion of the Spaur, a noble family from Trentino that governed the city on behalf of the Duke of Austria in the mid-1400s.

In the three frescoes, you can notice many details typical of African felines: the tail, the tongue, the colours, the posture.

Now that you have spotted them, continue along the street and you will find at least two more…

Dove si trova: Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 33170 Pordenone PN

In the Duomo Concattedrale di San Marco, an altarpiece attributed to Pomponio Amalteo (1505–1588) is preserved, dated 1556. It illustrates an episode from one of the non-canonical Gospels, the Pseudo-Matthew: during the “Flight into Egypt”, a palm tree bends down to allow the Virgin to gather dates and feed the Child Jesus.

At the feet of the Holy Family, the Friulian painter depicted a crowd of animals still found in our countryside: a robin, a goldfinch, a woodpecker, a dove, a nightingale, a hare, a pheasant, a squirrel and an owl. But in the background, hidden among the vegetation, a lion, a leopard and even a unicorn also appear. Can you spot them?

Dove si trova: Piazza San Marco, 33170 Pordenone PN

In the centre of Piazza San Marco, architect Pietro Zanini (1895–1989) designed the octagonal fountain in 1939. Water gushes from four small lion heads that appear to have been placed there to symbolically guard what is believed to be the first settlement of the city of Pordenone.

The square was once closed by Porta Furlana, the gate tower leading to the Noncello River.

In the 1830s, the street connecting the Loggia del Municipio to the river port was widened, the houses built against the churchyard of the Duomo Concattedrale di San Marco were demolished, and the space you see today began to take shape.

Dove si trova: Piazza San Marco, 33170 Pordenone PN

In Via della Motta, in front of the former church of San Francesco, the statue of the saint of Assisi seems to welcome you with an embrace; at his feet, two doves listen gently to his preaching.

The bronze statue was created by the local sculptor Pierino Sam (1921–2010), who for many years worked in a very small workshop next to the bell tower. The statue once stood at the centre of Piazza della Motta; later, following renovation works, it was moved beside the main entrance of the former church.

Consecrated by the Friars Minor in 1434, the convent complex was closed by order of the Serenissima in 1769 and put up for auction. In the following years, it changed function several times: soup kitchen, theatre, fruit and vegetable market, tavern. Today it hosts cultural events, exhibitions, concerts and some municipal offices.

Dove si trova: Via della Motta, 33170 Pordenone PN

The only ancient ‘Venetian’ lion is situated above the entrance door of the former Palazzo del Monte dei Pegni. People used to bring items here and receive a loan in return. Once they had repaid the sum, they could get their item back.

Built in 1767, the building was already very large at the time and, as a result, also housed a grain store and a number of public services.

During the Napoleonic era, it changed its function several times, serving, among other things, as a hospital and barracks.

Restored in 1968, it housed the public library until 2010.

It has now become the Casa della Musica.

Dove si trova: Piazza della Motta, 4, 33170 Pordenone PN