A 'surprising' coexistence of Pope Benedict, Pier Pasolini, award-winning chocolate and mosaic school

 PORDENONE - The first-ever exhibition on Pope Benedict XVI, a tomb of Italian intellectual Pier Pasolini, and a renowned chocolate shop. Welcome to northeastern Italy, to Friuli Venezia Giulia.

 

 The first exhibition on Benedict (1927 - 2022) in Italy, and according to organisers, also in Europe and the world, can be seen in the city of Pordenone north of Venice. Its title is “Remembering Benedict XVI: Towards the 100th anniversary of birth” of the 265th Pope of the Catholic Church, snd it is a highlight of Pordenone's year as Italy's capital of culture.

 

 The display of personal clothes and belongings of Benedict, portraits, and artwork is free of charge and hosted by the Diocesan Museum, which also showcases sacred artwork in its permanent collection. Around 1,000 visitors have come so far.

 

The exhibition was first presented at the German Embassy to the Holy See in Rome and then a few guests came to Pordenone to talk about Benedict including former President of the Italian Senate Marcello Pera, who co-authored a book with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger before he became pope.

 

 The exhibition runs until April 12. 2026.

 

 As Pordenone’s slogan goes, “The City That Surprises”, there are several surprises as one walks by the cobble-stoned main - and quite narrow - street with porticos on both sides leading up to the 13th century town hall.

 

 The city hosts a famous chocolate shop called Peratoner founded in the 19th century. At the entrance, a plaque says “The Best Chocolate Shop” declared at a competition in 2003 in Barcelona. “It was the best in the world,” the owner explains. Various types of chocolate are available and not only those who have a sweet tooth come.

 

 Pordenone was nicknamed the Painted City as it had many frescoes. Some are still visible, as well as creative modern paintings. The city’s Dome of St. Mark allegedly has a relic of St. Mark and the only painting by Tintoretto in this region, our guide said. Just like in other cities around, there is a high belfry. When a quake hit in this seismic area, it was safer to have a bell not inside the church as it can easily fall destroying much of what comes into its way.

 

 Pordenone boasts a vibrant cultural life, debates about books, music concerts, and exhibitions. It is preparing new activities for the next year, including a park which will serve as an ecological museum, a music centre and an interactive museum.

 

 West of Pordenone, lies the Small Venice, or Garden of Serenissima. The city of Sacile resembles Venice in a way as the river of Livenza flows through it creating picturesque scenes. The local Church of San Liberale is well known as the Renaissance painter Raphael Sanzio depicted it in the background of his opus The Marriage of the Virgin.

 

 Going eastward, one discovers the Pier Paolo Pasolini Study Center in Casarsa della Delizia, a hometown of the mother of this director, writer, and teacher. The controversial intellectual founded an academy for the local Friuli language and he also wrote poetry in Friulian. Pasolini is buried at a local cemetery, his simple tomb bearing only his name and the years 1922 – 1975. Moreover, the nearby Dome of Valvasone is home to the oldest organ in the area from the 16th century.

 

 Among other interesting sites, Spilimbergo stands out. Apart from the Dome of Saint Mary Major, considered “the most beautiful interior” in the area, visitors should go to the Mosaic school. Founded in 1922, it created the biggest mosaic in the world in Foro Italico in Rome and worked on the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Its corridors are covered with mosaics by students who come from various countries. Among them, we can admire a mosaic of the Pietà by Michelangelo, Pope Francis, John F. Kennedy or other colourful ones.