Palazzo Comunale (Loggia Comunale)

Pordenone’s Loggia Comunale is a brick town hall in the historic centre. The building developed from a thirteenth-century public loggia, enlarged under Venetian rule and expanded in the twentieth century. A projecting central section holds an astronomical clock and the figures known as the “mori.”

Why it matters

The loggia is the historic seat of Pordenone’s municipal government and remains a civic landmark. Its ground-floor arches open onto the street. The building stands at the northern end of Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, near the Duomo and the former river port on the Noncello.

What to notice

The trapezoidal brick building has three tall pointed arches across its façade and two along each flank. Traces of a two-ramp external staircase remain on the west side. The central section, added in the sixteenth century, combines an entrance arch crowned by the Lion of Saint Mark with a balcony for public proclamations, clock and small structure for the civic bell and the “mori.” The clock shows the hours, months and zodiac signs; an aperture above the dial displays the moon’s phase. The original figures bearing Pordenone’s and Austria’s arms are preserved in the city art museum; copies now strike the hours.

Context and history

The commune probably raised the loggia at the end of the thirteenth century; 1291 is a presumed founding date. Originally known as the “lozza,” its ground floor served public assemblies and justice. The upper floor was used for grain storage, armour storage and theatrical performances. After Venice took control, the façade was enriched in 1542 with the projecting central section designed by Pomponio Amalteo. The council chamber later housed civic art, including a 1626 altarpiece of Saint Mark and Justice by Il Padovanino. The collection remained there until the civic museum opened at Palazzo Ricchieri in 1970. Architect Cesare Scoccimarro’s mid-1920s project, completed in 1928, and a southern annex built from 1957 to 1976 expanded the municipal complex.