Longobard Antiquarium

At the ground floor of the Library of the Castle of Monselice the Museum Longobard Antiquarium has been organised in 1998. The Museum holds a little necropolis coming from the archaeological site sited in the Hill of the Rocca (Stronghold), along the run of the Mastio Federicano.

The Longobards, original Germanic population of the Scandinavia conquered Monselice in 602 A.D. with the King Agilulfo, taking possession besides of the ancient fortifications on the Hill of the Rocca (Stronghold).
The necropolis, of the first half of the VII century, it is formed by five graves with seven Longobard bodies of warrior and one of a child and by their grave goods to the interior.  The graves and the buried bodies recomposed in the present seat of the Museum, show faithfully the finding position. The rich grave goods is formed by weapons, by the “umbone” of a shild (the jutting central element of the shild), by personal objects (combs in bone, buckles and fixing of belt) and by a wonderful little cross in golden lamina, with decorations bringing back it justifies of woven animals.

The Museum is a strong departure point for the visit of the archaeological run of the Hill of the Rocca (Stronghold) and of the Museum to the summit of the Mastio Federicano.

Monumental Complex San Paolo of Monselice

The Monumental Complex San Paolo, has as a principal objective the exploration of the ex Church of San Paolo, with its numerous building epochs, and at the same time of the millenary history of the city of Monselice. A double visits run will let appreciate the Archaeological Area kept inside the Complex and give life to the Museum of the City, a cultural reference in which is possible to recognise the civic community can identify and that extols the identity it. An active project in the conservation, creation and diffusion of knowledge, but also a departure point for the discovery of the euganean territory and his historical-artistic, landscapes and eno-gastronomic numerous resources.

The museum style is that one of the active multi-sensory experience, able to accompany the visitor of each age in a journey to the discovery of the histpry of Monselice, from the Prehistory to our days. A journey that it catches from the first passes, inside one of the most ancient and noble Churches of the city. A journey that comes undone in two runs: the Museum of the City and the Area of the Excavations of the ex-Church of San Paolo, in which each visitors feels himself a protagonist, where the finds and the preparation satisfy the curiosity and stimolate the curiosity. The finds are appreciated by runs to themes that extol the function it of “objects telling” of several histories of the city. The preparation is inspired between the city and the surrounding landscape: it appreciates the connection run with the territory inviting the visitor to look outside the windows and rebuilds an indirect connection thanks to a particular use of shapes and images. A Museum for everyone, accessible under the physical, cultural and on-line outline.

The contents are contained in two different and autonomous runs, even if complementary: the Area of the Excavations of the monumental Complex of San Paolo, to to whose history they are dedicated the area occupied by the first church of VIII – IX century A. D. and the Museum of the City of Monselice that comes undone through the apse of the lateral nave, the sacristy, the greatest apse and the Hall of the Good Death. The run of the Area of the Excavations, it tells the visitor the history of different phases of architectural development of the Church, of the high Middle Ages in the Seven hundred, frescoes that still today embellish the walls it, but also archaeological excavations it turns to the interior and to the outside of the building, of the restoration and of the projects of exploitation. The run of the Museum of the City of Monselice, which follows a thematic – chronological ordering and lets to the visitor appreciate the transformations of the territory and his social and economic history, through an excursus that the pre-Roman and Roman age comes undone through the Middle Ages and the Venetian domination, the Austrian government, the world conflicts and the postwar period to join to our days and to a future that sees her between the tourist of the euganean territory. In the March of 2017 the Museum has been inaugurated and now in all his new brilliance is opened to the public.

Archaelogical Museum Atestino of Este

The National Museum Atestino of Este opens his leafs to the knowledge of the archaelogical finds dug in the small town of Este and in his surrounding territory. Thanks to the richest information supplied by the ancient handmade articles and by the data recovered in the excavations, it’s possible to rebuild the history of the human population from the epoch of the Paleolith, spending over the Mesolithic, the Neolithic, the Age from the Bronze, the Age of Iron, above all the civilisation of Ancient Venetians, the Roman epoch, to be conclusive with the Middle Ages. Eleven halls organised in chronological order and thematic at disposal for all the visitors, who can find also an aroused passion study place. The Museum is the entry door in a remote world and anchors unknown, that one of Ancient Venetians, which it belongs to our present community and makes us go along our origins again.

In the museum seat there are hel the most representative archaeological materials of the culture of Ancient Venetians, lived in the region during the whole I Millennium B.C.: the visitors will be able to discover several phases of an ancient Italic civilisation focused to prosperous mercantile activities and of handicraft.

The Roman section shows the metamorphosis of the city of Este, between the I century B.C. and the II century A.D., while a section, if nevertheless reduced but equally important, is dedicated to the Medieval epoch, Renaissance and Modern.

The museum is an obliged stop for scholars and visitors who want to follow in the detail the evolution of the Ancient Venetian Civilisation: inside of the eleven halls the precious treasures can be admired in fact that the majority represents the civilisation of the Ancient Venetians who lived in our region during the I Millenniu B.C. (they are picked up over 7.000 objects and 200.000 finds kept besides in the warehouses of the museum and not visible to the public).

The visit to the Museum starts from the first floor with the Pre-Protohistoric section and concludes to the ground floor with the Roman section and a little Medieval section; the exhibitions are divided into eleven halls and follow an order rigorously chronologically, from the most ancient materials to those more recent and besides an attentive cataloguing for themes as: the inhabilitants, the daily life, the uses and funerary customs and at last the religious practices.

Castle of Monselice

Already existing like settlement around the third millennium B. C. , Monselice became beforehand a Roman city, with the name “Mons Silicis“, and then it grew before be transforming into an important military stronghold and administrative centre, to head of a wide territory that was including the river Adige and the Euganean Hills. During the years it became an independent city – state, up to 1237, when it was conquered by Ezzelino III. While it was trying to obtain the control of the surrounding territory moving war against the city of Padova, Este and other local strongholds, Ezzelino used the Castle of Monselice as base. In 1338 the citadel passed under the control of the family Carrara, which governed Padova and the neighbouring zones for almost a whole century. In 1405, after a siege of one year, Monselice entered to be part of the Republic of Venice. The family Marcello purchased the Castle and trasformated i tinto a residence to which, for the occasion, a new name was given: Ca’ Marcello. Later the building became property of of Count Vittorio Cini, who restored and furnished it with his personal collection of weapon and forniture, tying his name to the history of the Castle. In summit to a hill in the centre of Monselice there is the Rocca (Stronghold), where it can be seen the remains of a fortification built in XIII century by Federico II of Sweden.

Catajo’s Castle

The Catajo’s Castle in Battaglia Terme, was born initially like a villa and residence. Between 1570 and 1573, it was still rebuilt and widened on project of Andrea da Valle at the Marquis’s Pio Enea I, an officer of the Republic of Venice who calls himself as the inventor of the howitzer (intermediate piece of ordnance between the cannon and the mortar, with pulling to trajectory very much artillery curve/bullet), and that gave to the Castle a feudal stylistic print of strong impact (today it counts about 350 rooms). The building contains a cylce of frescoes of Giambattista Zelotti (pupil of Paolo Veronese), which represent the military triumphs of Pio Enea of Obizzi. The Marquis wanted a building in half between the military castle and the princely villa. Widened in 800 of Hasburg of Este, it became later an Austrian imperial house. Then it passed to Hasburg, emperors of Austria. Building fences angular small towers, a labyrinthine run between couryards, loggias, staircases for horses, passages dug in the rock lead the noble plan. Here, a bright triumph of light and colour can be admired perfectly preserved one of the most important Renaissance auto-commemorative pictorial cycles, makes by Gian Battista Zelotti, favourite painter of the venetian nobilty, that in 40 squares has told the history about tha Family Obizzi. After the First World War the Catajo was assigned to the Italian government like relief of the damages of war. At the end of the twenties, the Castles became a property of the Family of Francesca. Since 2014 the Catajo is of property of a well-known venetian entrepreneur, who gave life and prestige to the magnificent monumental work.

Castle of Lispida – Villa Italia

Just outside the urban net of Monselice, the Castle of Lispida, a medieval monastery agostiniano, transformed into residence in 1700s. today is an elegant wine resort, where it can be taste the wine products with natural methods, with fermentation in yeasts to the interior terracotta jars, according to the meadow one of Roman age. It is possible to stay inside the castle and to take advantage of the fruit trees and of the vegetable garden that can be picked up freely. The estate goes up again to the Middle Ages. In 1550 Pope Eugenio III entrusted the property and the church dedicated to Holy Mary of Ispida to a monks’ order Augustiniani, who built a monastery. The walls that surround the garden are still visible to our days. In 1792 the Counts Corinaldi bought the property, building a villa on the collapses of the monastery and guided an activity of wine-making production. The estate can boasts the biggest historical cellar of the Veneto (about 2000 square metres). During the First World War the building became the general quarter of King Vittorio Emanuele II and with that moment in then the imposing construction, with the marble flight of steps, it was call Villa Italia. The wine production continues still today and besides it is possible to stay in wonderful rooms – flats destined for the holidays for stay immersed between the landscape beauties and the fairy atmosphere.