Este (19/03/2016)

I decided to visit the small town of Este, in the province of Padova, because of an exhibition on ancient chinese art called the States of Chu. Once we reached the town we parked our car and entered the city center on foot. We started by visiting the main square: Piazza Maggiore, which at that time was covered with market stalls. All around it are palaces dating from different centuries, the most interesting of which is the Palazzo degli Scaligeri, a medieval palace built in the 14th century. From there we walked over to the other large square of the town: Piazza Trento & Trieste with more nice palaces all around it. We then stopped at the Trattoria al Cavallino where we had a great lunch and filled our bellies before heading to the museum. After lunch we reached the museum where we saw the Chu exhibition first and then the Museo Nazionale Atestino which a large and very interesting collection of archaeological remains dating to preroman and roman eras; particularly nice where the roman mosaics and statutes. After the visit to the museum we entered the castle grounds which host a large and pretty public park. The sun was out and the first trees and plants were blossoming so it was quite nice to stroll around. I then walked up the hill to reach the highest point where the castle keep was located, although I then found out it was closed. I descended the other side of the hill an walked along the impressive fortified walls, exiting from the northern gate and siding the eastern defenses. From there we walked back into town and reached the Cathedral. Not particularly noteworthy, and having an incomplete facade, it features a nice painting by Tiepolo and a pretty bell tower. Walking some more we reached the southern part of the town's main square where the Civic Tower is located, not much further on we passed by the closed church of San Martino, the oldest in town that has a peculiar leaning bell tower. From the we headed back towards the car, having one last stop at the Basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie which had a mass going on so we just peered in quickly.

Roman mosaic inside the museum

View of the park and castle

The northern and eastern walls

View of the walls

View towards the Cathedral

The civic tower

View of the main square and the castle in the background

View of the main square and civic tower

Praglia Abbey (18/09/2015)

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.

View of the church

The Botanical Cloister

Close up of the columns and arches

The Hanging Cloister and the medieval bell tower

The Refectory

View from the Monte della Madonna

Montagnana (31/03/2015)

I had come back to Italy for the easter break so I decided to do a little sightseeing back home. I left Vicenza, my hometown, with my brother at around 9:30 to see the walled town of Montagnana in the Province of Padova. Once we reached the destination, we parked the car just outside the northern entrance of the town, the Porta Nuova or Porta Vicenza, signalling the direction towards Vicenza. We entered the town through there and started walking toward the main square: Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II. Right in the middle of the square is located the Duomo, built in the 15th century, in a late Gothic style, with several interesting chapel and paintings such as the Transfiguration by Paolo Veronese. round and facing the square are also the Palazzo Valeri and the Monte di Pietá, a sort of pawn shop of the medieval era. We then headed east, walking along the northern wall until we reached the castle of San Zeno, built in the 13th century, which guards the eastern entrance and the road towards Padova. Right outside lies the Villa Pisani, a Unesco site because built by Palladio; it is unfortunately pivate so not accessible. We headed back into town and passed by a few palaces such as the Magnavin-Foratti Palace and the Town Hall, built by famous architect Sanmichieli in the 16th century. We then went back out of the town through a small opening in the southern walls; we reached the Sant Antonio Abate church which was closed, and then went back inside through the same opening, after having seen a beautiful view of the long southern perimeter wall. We walked further on and stopped in front of San Francesco church, which was unfortunately closed too, we eventually reached the western part of town. We passed by the XX September gate, and the western entrance to the city, the Rocca degli Alberi built in the 14th century guarding the way to Verona. After walking some more around town, we decided it was time to head back home to have lunch, so we went back towards the parking lot. On the way back we made a brief stop to see the splendid Villa Barbarigo in the town of Noventa Vicentina, built in the 16th century it is now the town hall. We then eventually got back home around 2:30 in time for lunch.

The Northern walls

The Duomo

Inside of the Duomo

One of the Chapels

The main square

A street along the walls

The Castle of S Zeno

The Western walls

The Southern walls