ANCIENT HAMLETS
Arquà Petrarca met up in a beautiful medieval hamlet and is situated inside the heart of Euganei Hills in the south of Monte Piccolo and Monte Ventolone.
It became UNESCO SITE from 2011.
Arquà Petrarca was prizewinner by the transmission Rai “ Alle Falde del Kilimangiaro” with the title of “2°Borgo più bello d’Italia 2017”.
The hamlet was build in the medieval epoch around the year Thousand, and it’s composed by two dividual nucleus: one heigh and another low.
The hamlet is became important because it was choosen by the poet Francesco Petrarca (born in Arezzo in 1304 and died in Arquà in 1374) as a place of residence of the last years of his life.
Francesco Petrarca knew the burg during a sojourn in Abano Terme for take care of the scabies which afflicted him for many years and, around 1369, received for present the house and the meadow from Federico I (Sir of Carraresi), where lived in the euganeo meadow untill his death in 1374. Francesco admired a lot the burg of Arquà because gave him restfulness and peace, expounded with a florid and wonderful vegetation which has took back to the poet the memory of his darling Tuscany .
The name Arquà isn’t chained only with the Poet name, but is chained also by Jacopo d’Arquà from the family of Paradisi wich was a doctor at the Court of King Lodovico d’Ungheria; the name is very important and we can remember it because in his testament, he didn’t forget the home country and dedicate a beneficent opera, he asked to build a cistern for the depletion and a water beneficial use for all the local community.
The places to visit in Arquà Petrarca are: the Home and the Tomb of Petrarca, the Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta, very important because host the Poet Tomb and hosted also the funeral. The Fontana del Petrarca, the Oratorio della Santissima Trinità and the Loggia dei Vicari. These sites are very important because represent a complex monunmental of interest historical and cultural.
PETRARCA’S HOUSE
The original house structure reascend in the years ‘200, was the same Petrarca in 1369 to direct the restoration alternations. The house in the origin was composed by two corps with a height difference three and half meters; afterwards was changed with the opening of some windows in the facade and a preordination of two housing units: one derivated from the inferior building is for his family and the other is for the servitude and services, where could find the hall door. Petrarca was interested also in inside decoration with wall painting with flowery patterning and we can admire also today. The Poet looked after also the outdoor location shots with the construction of two vegetable gardens (in the front and back house), where there was planted especially fruit trees and aromatic herbs; this two areas was very important for Petrarca which had always passion for the plant’s cure; today remain the italian garden of 1925 that sorround the geometric flowerbeds and the entry walkway which take to the scales reascended at XVI century. Moreover we have to remember: the Studiolo where died the Poet with chair and originals library and the niche where is preserved the mummy of a cat and they say that is Petrarca’s cat.
In the sixteenth century the owner became the Paduan patrician Pietro Paolo Valdezocco, in this period was builded the outdoor scale and the Renaissance loggia but especially was painted the walls inspird of “al Canzoniere, ai Trionfi e all’Africa”. Many rooms in the edifice have the decoration pictorial in the sixteenth-century: the central room, called Stanza delle Metamorfosi, which have episodes inspired by the first epic poem of Canzoniere; Stanza di Venere, traditionally was the Poet’s bedroom, which take the name to the decoration in the chimney with Venere, Vulcano and Cupido, where was conserved since ’70 years of the last century, the embalmed cat; Stanza dell’Africa or of Cleopatra or of Lucrezia, with some episode treated of Africa, opera in latin of Petrarca, painting on the orphrey but unfortunately now disappeared. The last owner was the cardinal Pietro Silvestri ,which donated the house to the town hall of Padua in the 1875. The house of Petrarca is important in the circuit of Civics Museums and the Common of Padua and this last have recently promoted a specific guide where are illustrated all the important rooms for the Poet.
FOUNTAIN AND TOMB OF PETRARCA
The fount preexisted already from the arrival of Francesco Petrarca, and it was certainly used, because in the time there wasn’t fount in the city center. In the frontal arch in Nanto’s stone is incide the “ disco in latino”( is a strophe formed with a couple verse): “Fonti numen inest,hospes: venerare liquorem,unde bibens cecinit digna Petrarcha deis” that is “a numen live in this fount, oh foreigner: venerate this water, drinking and is where Petrarca could sing divine verse”, composed maybe by Quarenghi, author of the verse for the “Cat” embalmed of the Poet.
On the tomb ark in red marble of Verona, there are the spoils of Petrarca; the ark was builded seven years after the Poet’s death by the son in law Francescuolo da Brossano. In the front we find the letter dictated by the same Petrarca: “Frigida francisci lapis hic tegic ossa Petrarce,suscipe virgo parens animam,sate virgine pace. Fessaq(ue) iam terris celi requiescant in arce” that is “ this stone cover the cold bones of Francesco Petrarca,accept , oh Virgin, his soul, and you, Virgin’s soon, forgive. Can her, tired of the Earth, rest on the Celeste Fortress”. The broze body on the ark is a copy of that stand in 1547 by Pietro Valdezocco and scarred br some harquebus shots. The original body was conserved in the museum inside the Petrarca’s home.
PLACE OF SAINT MARCO in Arquà represent together with the Castello street and Ventolone street, an original nucleus where was advanced the comunity. To remember is the Lion’s Column in San Marco that was wrecked in the XIX century by the inhabitants in the hamlet, and then was reconstructed and relocated in the present location by the Common of Venice in 1929.
ORATORY SS TRINITY AND VICARI’S LOCULUS
Of the Oratory we had news already in the 1181, also if surely preexist. This church way very dear to Petrarca, because he usually went for praying. The Church has a Romanesque structure with a unique nave with overdraft travature and hut roof.
The Oratory was modified many times and in the fourteenth century was enlarged and moreover was performed some fantastic wall painting connected Madonna and San Cristoforo and in the fifteenth century was addition the apastron.
Inside we can view: the wooden altar in the seventeenth century with the shovel of Palma il Giovane, which figured the Trinity and Paliotto in cuoio where we can admire Resurrect Christ. On the sides of the altar we find the statue of S.Cristoforo on painted stone and the statue on painted wood of S.Lucia. Moreover inside the Church are conserved some tombale crystal and a stoup in roman epoch.
Giovanni Battista Pellizzari in 1670 , painted on a big canvas the “Città di Padova nell’atto di rendere omaggio a un vescovo martire”. The bell-tower reascended in the XII century, was a lot of time souped-up untill 1928, when a restoration took it to the original form.
Chained with the Oratory there is Loggia dei Vicari in the thirteenth century: was the place for the conventions and discussion of the problems among houseowners in this place and Vicars. In 1828 the roof was demolished and remained discovery untill 2003, when the Common of Arquà Petrarca started the works which have taken the Loggia with a new hedge.
Today the light blue reflexed of solar ray filter inside the truss on glass and they render suggestive the visit a the monument.
The inside of the Loggia is furnished with emblems of Vicari.
CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA ASSUNTA
In the chucrh of Santa Maria Assunta there was the funeral of Francesco Petrarca and near the Church was buried. In 1677 was expanded on length and height, while the facade had some modification in 1874 and 1926. Actually is a romantic line.
The inside has two lateral altars on wood golden and impressed in the XVI century, they are situated on the right and on the left near the ingress to the presbytery and they represent the Baptism of Jesus. The central altar come to the heremitage on Monte Rua, is created by the sculptor Francesco Rizzi to the Bonazza’s school (an italian sculptor), and is composed by the statue of Virgin and Arkhangelsk Gabriele
Behind the major altar we find the big Pala of Assunta, created by Palma il Giovane. In ‘900 was found painting-walls of the Venetian-Byzantine school in particulary a Madonna with the Baby, are emerged others painting-walls dating back to the XV century of Giottesque school.
MUSICAL FOUNDATION MASIERO AND CENTANIN
The Musical Foundation Masiero and Certanin was instituited in 1997 thanks the testamentary of Giulia Centanin and has gotten a recognition for the giuridic personality of Veneto Region the 3 June 1997. The Foundation is in Arquà Petrarca inside Villa Centanin and it has a detached lodgement in Padua. Inside the Villa in Arquà Petrarca is possible view the museum constituited by 25 pianos in XVII and XIX century; this last can be: on tail,table,vertical and others rare form. Next the builders Germans,English,French, are signatures of Venetian authors. The Foundation is hold up by a Administration Council which is president the actual Director of the Conservatory in Padua.
LAKE’S COAST – Unesco Site
Lake’s coast is a small water mirror that is on the feet of Euganei Hills, narrowly in Arquà Petrarca. The phases more representational are those reascended to the Bronze epoch between the XXII and XV century. The inhabited was situated on the South-West of the Lake, maybe divided in settlement nucleus, with habitations pile dweller, described by the trenchers “formed by scaffolding of big wood beams “.
The conservation of one of the pickets discovered along the side of some road surface, conserved inside the Civic Museum in Padua, has allowed the consummation of a radiocarbonica dating, which has permitted the structure between the XXI and XX century a.C.
The Lake’s Coast cover an importance cultural and international landscape,because it was included inside the UNESCO SITE cultural and serial transnational denominated “Sites pile dweller prehistoric of the alpin arch“ designed in 2011.
Important characters in Arquà Petrarca
Others important characters in Arquà Petrarca are : Vittoria Aganoor (born in Padua in 1855 and died in Rome in 1910), she was an italian poetress. In 1900 published “Leggenda eterna” (eternal legend), this poetics collection is inspired to the harrowed and important love for the poet Domenico Gnoli. In 1900 she get married with Guido Pompilj that was an undersecretary in the Saracco govern and Minister of Foreign countries in the Giolitti govern among 1906 and 1909.
During the matrimonial period, Vittoria wrote “Nuove Liriche” (new lyrics) and published them in 1908, which rendered her more known in the literary set.
She became ill of cancer and died in Rome between 7 and 8 May in 1910 at the age of 55 years.
Adolfo Callegari (born in 1882 and died in 1948 ), was very important because he became in 1922 director of National Museum in Este. Many are his publications dedicated to the euganeo territory like: “Guida dei Colli Euganei” (guide of Euganei Hills) in 1931 and always in the same year “Ville del Brenta e dei Colli” (ville of Brenta and Hills), in 1941 published “La piccola guida illustrata per il forestiere” ( the little illustrated guide for the stranger). Moreover he wrote some rate in relation to the digs that directed in the eugnea area like that in the drainage in Lozzo Atestino in 1929. But especially the merit was attributed for two discoveries donated to the Atestino Museum: in 1925 he found the famous Gold Medallion of August one, and in 1936 he found in its excavation some ceramics of 1500 and of 1600, mostly jugs in majiolica (a type of pottery/ earthenware), with the coat of arms of the Monaci Camadolesi (that is a monastic congregation).
In the thirthies he organised two important exhibitions in Este to concerning histoty, art, agriculture and industries of Euganei Hills; Callegari besides threw himself in public with the memory with the name: “Una minaccia per i Colli Euganei” (“A threat for the Euganei Hills”); he also has threatened to the local quarries that were attaching butally the beauties of the territory. He died in 1948 in Arquà Petrarca leaving behind himself the responsibility of keeper and protector of the Colli Euganei.
Much are the motives that can lead to visit the Hamlet of Arquà Petrarca: her history, her site Unesco, her green territory, the cultural manifestations/events, the ancient traditions, the little small markets, and the tastings of local products.
In Arquà Petrarca you can admire, in a pleasant and striking colours harmony, the cultivation of olive trees which an oil of the highest quality is producted, the “Jujube” a little tree which there is born the sweetest fruit similar to a berry and which a very agreeable liqueur is producted, and ancient cultivations of autochthonous vines which it is extracted a quality of wine of prestige and of international recognition.
Arquà Petrarca offers an excellent choice of B&B, hotels, resorts, hamlets, agritourisms, restaurants, wine cellars of excellent quality. Besides it is possible to buy local products, souvenir in the businesses sited in the characteristics and curates roads of the historical centre.
The Parish of Saint Lorence is situated in Valsanzibio of Galzignano Terme (PD). The church is dating from the XVII century and it is abdorned by a wonderful and romantic bell tower with around a little crop. The church was widened in the half of the Six hundred, from the noble family of Barbarigo. In origin the principal Church was that one of Sant’Eusebio; with passing of the year and of the demographic inrease, the church of Saint Lorence became the principal church of the Parish, while the Church of Sant’Eusebio was transformed in a little convent which was picking up the tithes of the friars of the Abbey of Praglia.
To the day of today the Ancient Parish of Saint Lorence has been restored either to the outside or to the interior, she presents to herself with a neoclassic style, with four pillars crowned by an eardrum (or a triangular surface); it has an only central nave and there have been put to the interior in prominence the most beautiflul frescoes that characterise it.
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