The honour was assigned to the Friuli-Venezia Giulia city by a jury.
Pordenone beat off competition from nine rivals - Alberobello (Puglia), Aliano (Basilicata), Brindisi (Puglia), Gallipoli (Puglia), La Spezia (Liguria), Pompeii (Campania), Reggio Calabria (Calabria), Sant’Andrea di Conza (Campania) and Savona (Liguria).
“The jury has turned a spotlight on the far northeast, putting us back in the right sphere,” said Mayor Alberto Parigi.
“Finally, we will no longer be known just as the city of military barracks, where tens of thousands of people of a certain era did their compulsory military service.
“Ours is not a community that only thinks about making ‘money’, it also knows how to combine economy and culture with extraordinary vitality.”
Among the elements given in Pordenone’s bid were the Pordenonelegge literary festival, Le Giornate del Cinema Muto (a silent-film festival) and the Palazzo del Fumetto comics museum.
Sicily’s Agrigento is Italy’s culture capital this year and L’Aquila, in Abruzzo, will take over in 2026.
ANSA
