Portogruaro is a city with a strategic position: it has an important railway station and a street junction that quickly connect it with the other cities of Veneto region and Northern Italy (There are the highway A4 and the railway which both connect Portogruaro with Trieste going East and with Venice going West).

Portogruaro is also situated near the beaches of Bibione and Caorle and not far from the mountains of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia.

PORTOGRUARO OLD CITY CENTER

Portogruaro is an enjoyable city with a pretty old town center that dates back to Middle ages. It has ancient towers to access it, old buildings in Venetian style with arcades and unique monuments, like the Town Hall with the Ghibelline battlements and the leaning tower bell standing next to the Dome.

This area is the heart of Portogruaro. Thanks to the many shops, bars, restaurants, pizzerie and bakeries it livens up of locals and tourists both during the week and on weekends.

On Thursday mornings, when the usual weekly market takes place, Portogruaro is very crowded, overall during the Summer when the market stalls attract tourists from the nearby beach resorts. They come here to make some shopping or just to visit the city and enjoy a snack or a lunch in one of the typical “osterie” or “trattorie”.

Who had the opportunity to visit the old town center of Portogruaro surely carried home an indelible memory: it’s the typical walk under the arcades that run along the two sides of the main street that are the elegant frame for shops and venues.

Once you are in the city center you can visit Piazza della Repubblica and have a look at Lemene, the river that crosses Portogruaro with its mills with their still working wheels, that are also the venue for art shows.

Speaking about the river in past times it was navigable from Portogruaro to the sea (and back), so the city was also a little port. This, together with the cranes – migratory birds that in the past built nests in the area – contributed to give this name to the city.

And the history of the town also includes other beautiful venues like the Paleontological Museum with its ancient rests or the Dome consecrated to St. Andrew, patron saint of the city. This church keeps paintings of famous painters like Pomponio Amalteo and Palma il Giovane.

EVENTS IN TOWN

Portogruaro is also a city that has to be lived all-year round during its fairs, feasts, events and shows that take place in the main square, on the streets or in the new Theatre Russolo. Among them we mention St. Andrea fair in November, the musical Wednesdays on Summer nights, Estate Musicale organized by Fondazione Musicale Santa Cecilia, the show listing of Theatre Russolo, the Rosario fair in October, Terra dei Dogi in May… and many others.

PORTOGRUARO A GOOD PLACE TO LIVE IN

Outside the inner city the town is composed of different quarters with modern buildings and detached and semi-detached houses, often made even more beautiful by their private gardens, as for example, in the small neighborhood of San Nicolò, or in the areas of Beata Maria Vergine and Frati parishes. This pretty city guarantees to its citizens a good quality of life, where “a good place to live in” means serenity, safety and easy access to education and services.

THE BEAUTIFUL SURROUNDINGS

Just few km far from Portogruaro there are also other cities and small towns surrounded by the countryside, with small old town centers, squares, churches, buildings and small streets rich of history and traditions. For example not far from Portogruaro there is Concordia Sagittaria where at every corner you can bump into elements that remind its ancient Roman origins: the old road, the thermal baths, the roman bridge, the rests of the paleo-Christian cathedral… Findings en plain air that can be admired during a walk or while jogging.

On the bank of Reghena river there is Summaga with its ancient Benedictine abbey, then there is Cinto Caomaggiore with its small lakes, perfect for spring pic-nics, Portovecchio, Belfiore with the mill that hosts the museum of agriculture activities inside, Fossalta di Portogruaro and Alvisopoli, Pramaggiore and Lison very famous destinations because of the wines that are produced here. These and others small towns nearby are perfect for a visit by bike covering the paths in the countryside.