Today with a few friends I traveled to the Abbey of Praglia, located in the commune of Teolo, about 15km south west of Padova. After reaching the place, we parked our car just outside, and entered the complex on foot. The first thing which appears to the visitor is the imposing church, with a large staircase leading up to the entrance. The whole monastery was built around the 11th and 12th centuries, however it was fully refurbished in the 15th and 16th centuries giving it the look we now see. We entered the church first since we still had 20 minutes before the tour began. The inside was quite nice with a few frescoed chapels, and nicely frescoed central dome and main altar. After looking around for a while we headed out and towards the main cloister, the Rustic cloister since it was used to store the utensils to work the land, where the tour was going to start. A mid aged monk was our guide for the day and started to tell us the history of the monastery, he didn't seem quite happy though but was really prepared. From the main cloister we moved on to the smaller Botanical Cloister, which was used to grow the plants and medicines necessary to the monastery. There was a really nice and well kept garden, all around surrounded by late Gothic, early Renaissance arches and windows. We then climbed up a stair to reach the wonderful Hanging Cloister, since it was built on the second floor, with a monumental well at its center. Around it are concentrated all the main rooms and activities of the monastery such as the Chapter house, where the monks gathered to discuss, and the Refectory, where the monks had their meals, with beautiful wooden seats from the 18th century and just outside next to the entrance two beautiful 16th century basins made of marble. Just next to the cloister, was a splendid loggia looking out towards the surrounding fields and hills. The monastery also houses a really important library, declared a National Monument, which used to create important books and it still does so today, being it the reason why we couldn't visit that part so as not to disturb the monks during their work. With the end of the visit we decided to get back in the car and head a few kilometers west, up the hill Monte della Madonna. At its top is a peaceful sanctuary, also owned by the monks of Praglia, with beautiful views all around. We also found a path leading through the forest to the abandoned church of Sant Antonio Abate. Overall it was a fun and nice day and we were very happy of the places we visited.
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| View of the church |
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| The Botanical Cloister |
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| Close up of the columns and arches |
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| The Hanging Cloister and the medieval bell tower |
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| The Refectory |
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| View from the Monte della Madonna |
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