A #FreeWalk in Portogruaro

A bit of time ago I came across a very interesting post by @robertandrew, who invented a contest that I really liked, called #FreeWalk.

These are the rules of the contest:

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Rules for the #FreeWalk Challenge

1. At least a 30 minute walk/hike... With photos detailing your #FreeWalk
2. Has to be from your home/apartment/dwelling and you have to walk OUTSIDE of your neighborhood or Apt. complex. Into the World :)
3. You cannot decide and plan before hand where to go. This is a #FreeWalk where you decide as you go along in the moment. Let your Mind and Soul guide you.
4. Take a photo of leaving your house with hand on doorknob opening door. And the same thing when returning.
5. #FreeWalk Challenge lasts through the end of April (I was going to make it a week but I know it's hard to find the time to do something like this).

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I have always loved a lot walking, and it seemed an excellent idea to combine a bit of movement with the possibility of showing the surroundings of the place where I live. Steemians friends who live far from Italy may find interesting to see something to which they are not used to.
Unfortunately, as @robertandrew foresaw, I was too busy to make this challenge in recent weeks, and I managed to do it only this afternoon.
So, this is my #FreeWalk:

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Me opening my house door. My Freewalk begins at 4:03 p.m. CEST (Central European Summer Time)

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This is my neighborhood, a row of quiet houses inhabited mostly by former bank employees, mower maniacs (my house instead belonged to a psychiatrist... this should suggest some analogy).

I decided to go towards the center of the town, crossing a road that runs parallel to the row of houses on the left.

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I live in Portogruaro, a town of just over 25,000 inhabitants about 70 km from Venice. The end of this road leads into the medieval-renaissance old town. That's where I'm headed.

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Before arriving at the old town, I walk in front of the civic theater, named after Luigi Russolo, a futurist painter and musician, born in my city.
The theater is the building in the background: the part of glass corresponds to the dressing rooms and the stage, on the right the public entrance is visible. Before the recent restoration, the building housed an old disused cinema.
The lawn with cypress trees stands on the ruins of a convent, whose foundations are marked by the stone slabs that can be seen in the picture. The burials of some monks, which still lie under the grass, have also been found.

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Portogruaro is a water town, a bit like its bigger sister Venice. The town center is surrounded by canals. Here are visible the Two Mills, which are now spaces that host exhibitions (the banner informs me that soon there will be an exhibition of a guy called Biagio Pancino).

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Continuing on my hike, I arrive at the Parco della Pace (Peace Park). I like this place, especially in spring, when the lawn is in bloom and there are no tiger mosquitoes yet.

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The park was part of the Counts Marzotto villa, now home to municipal offices. Here we see the former stables, which host the registry and the electoral offices, framed by a beautiful purple wisteria.

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A selfie with the park in the background:

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In another part of the park, a memorial stone of the victims of the “foibe” (sinkholes).
During the World War II and shortly after its end, many Italian inhabitants of Istria and Venezia Giulia, came under Yugoslav rule, were thrown into the foibe.

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After crossing the park, I make a ring and return to the old city. On my way, I note this villa surrounded by flowering trees and the ever-present canal:

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The glimpse of a building that I always liked, on a pedestrian street. I suspect that it is not very ancient, it could be neoclassical or nineteenth-century neo-gothic, but the bas-reliefs incorporated in the façade seem to me more ancient. The portico is typical of the old town of Portogruaro, as many other Italian cities.

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Just after a short passage under the porticoes, I come out into Piazza della Repubblica (Republic Square), with the renaissance town hall in the background, an equestrian monument to the fallen of the two world wars (not very nice, the knight seems to have a pole up the ass). Behind the buildings, the leaning bell tower of the cathedral appears.

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Not only Pisa has a leaning tower in Italy. This is the result of building heavy towers on unstable ground, in centuries when foundation techniques were not as good as today.

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Another glimpse of the Venetian gothic palaces, still inhabited today. One of the things that amaze most my American friends is that I went to high school in a building that was older than the discovery of America. I think this centuries-old perspective is one of the things that most differentiates us Europeans from Americans. When we think of a project, we must calculate a very ancient interweaving of institutions and elements that must be preserved, and in the end we often do nothing, to avoid damaging it.

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Time to go home, especially as the weather turns to rain. Step back in front of the theater and along the road that brought me downtown.

Arrived at home, I find the young cat of the neighbors who decided to exploit like me the beautiful day to do a bit of exploration, with some annoyance from my dog Toby.

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Finally back, hand on the door! My #FreeWalk is over, I hope you enjoyed the report and the pics of my little, old Portogruaro as I enjoyed the walk. Thank you @robertandrew for the beautiful idea!

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All images are my own unless otherwise cited.

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