Portogruaro: The home of Wines of Venice

Portogruaro was founded in 1140, when several fishermen from the Roman town of Concordia Sagittaria were granted the right to settle and build a river port.  In 1420 its citizens asked to become part of the Republic of Venice. Under the Venetians the town enjoyed a certain degree of autonomy and could expand economically.
 After the Napoleonic parentheses in 1815, it was assigned to the Austrian Empire, under which Portogruaro remained until 1866, when the Venetian Republic and therefore Portugruaro once again became part of Italy.

Today, the centre of the town has changed very little from medieval times, having preserved many of it's original features including parts of the original wall and moat. 

The town has prospered in recent years due to being located centrally between several cities and also being the gateway to access the beautiful Venetian Riviera. However it remains an important town also for wine production, with the beginning of the famous Venetian "Strade dei Vini" or wine roads, being located just outside the town centre.

Portogruaro is also home to Wines of Venice, so you can expect to see many more updates about the town and surrounding area, and not just related to wine.