Travel Guide of Cittadella, Veneto, Italy

Cittadella is a medieval walled city in the province of Padua, northern Italy, founded in the 13th century as a military outpost of Padua. It is part of the group of walled cities that can be admired in the Veneto. Located in the Venetian Plain, Cittadella is located in a fertile area with an ancient agricultural tradition that developed a solid artisan and industrial economy in the second half of the twentieth century, to which a certain tourist development is added. Since 1972 it bears the title of Città.

Cittadella is the only walled city in all of Europe to have a medieval, fully elliptical, walkable Parapect Walkway. The Walls can be visited with a panoramic walk at 15 meters high, a unique experience of “Walking in History”. The surrounding wall has been restored and is 1,461 metres in circumference with a diameter of around 450 metres. There are four gates which roughly correspond the points of the compass.

Cittadella is a beautiful walled town placed perfectly between Padua, Venice, Verona and Vicenza. It was founded as an outpost for Padova in 1220. Built for defense of the territory during a time of strife between Padova and Treviso, it was completely encircled by high crenellated protective walls, along with a moat and four gates complete with drawbridges.

Unlike the neighbouring fortresses with their quadrangular formats in keeping with the military standards of the time Citadella is distinguished by its circular walls, which, with their four gates situated at the cardinal points – each bearing the name of the city which it faces – its two main intersecting roads, and 16 towers, made it a sort of ‘ideal city’, always ready to confront any type of threat. During its long history the town has been ruled by the Romans, the Scaligeri, the Visconti, and was finally handed over to the Venetians. During the war of the League of Cambrai the only damage it sustained was to the Porta Vicenza (still visible today).

There were passageways within and atop the walls to safely traverse the city in times of battle. A glass elevator in the Porta Vicenza gate now transports you up to see the walls and surrounding views. Don’t miss the Casa del Capitano (house of the captains) within the Rocca. It has a series of frescoes that documents historical events through the centuries, from 1260 through 1600, in vivid detail, as accurately as the city’s hand-written documents.

Today, looking at Cittadella from above, you can see the almost perfect cylindrical outline of the walls that still cradle the town. It has been possible to walk around the entire circle of the city walls, starting from Porta Bassano, visiting the Captain’s house, where before embarking on the tour of the walls themselves you pass through an evocative environment adorned with ancient arms and furnishings.

In the historic center is a beautiful theater ringed with private and opulent-looking viewing boxes and hung with an enormous crystal chandelier. It still showcases theatrical and operatic productions. The town’s cathedral is a neoclassical design built in 1774 with a nice gallery in the sacristy that houses some wonderful works of sacred art by regional artists. The Palazzo Pretorio, which was the seat of the podesta’ (ruling council), first under Padova then under the Most Serene Republic of Venice, has been restored and features important exhibits and meetings.

Also not to be missed are the Palazzo Pretorio, the Cathedral museum containing Jacopo di Ponte’s Supper at Emmaus, the Social Theatre, and the ancient church of San Donato, which lies just outside the city walls on the way to Padua.

The Maltese Tower, Built in 1251 by a ruling despot, it was used as a prison for his enemies, whose rooms it is said Ezzelino da Romano used to torture prisoners. Its sad history was cited by Dante in the Divine Comedy. It is now the site of a nice archeological museum.

History
Cittadella of the Veneto was settled by the Romans and in 148 BC they built the Postumia Road that connected Genoa with Aquileia. It wasn’t until the 13th century that Cittadella was built though; its location strategically chosen to defend Padua’s borders from Treviso and Vicenza. And defend it did through a series of wars that saw the town change hands from the Carraresi to the Venetian Republic and even Napoleon and the Hapsburg before finally being returned under the new Kingdom of Italy.

Although the foundation of Cittadella is in 13th century, its territory has a much older history. The traces left by the ancient Romans who occupied the Veneto at the end of the third century BC are very evident. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the territory of Cittadella followed the fate of much of Northern Italy passing to the Kingdom of the Lombards.

Between the 12th and 13th centuries Padua, one of the most important municipalities in the Veneto region, gave impetus to an important expansionist push, soon entering into conflict with the neighboring Vicenza and Treviso. The latter, around 1195, started the construction of Castelfranco, a small military outpost near the border marked by the Muson stream.

The response of Padua was not long in coming and in 1220, on the opposite bank of the river, the construction of the Citadel began. The new fortified village, designed by Benedetto da Carturo, however, has original features that clearly differentiate it from Castelfranco; it is not a small and compact quadrangular castle, but a real city with an airy rounded plan, with its own statutes and autonomy of government. In this way Padua not only intends to create a military garrison, but also an administrative and economic center to favor the colonization of the territory between the Brenta and the Muson.

Until the beginning of the fifteenth century, Cittadella followed the fate of the mother city, passing from the lordship of Ezzelino III da Romano to that of the Carraresi, the Scaligeri and even the Carraresi. In 1406, at the end of the so-called war of Padua, Cittadella enters the orbit of the Serenissima. While keeping it framed in the Paduan district, the Venetians endow the city with a podesta office inside and a podesta office outside, one with jurisdiction inside the walls, the other outside.

The long Venetian period characterized, by peace and political stability, led Cittadella to evolve from a military outpost to a service and market center. This transformation is also reflected in the urban fabric, with the construction of administrative buildings, but also warehouses and shops. At the same time, expansion outside the walls begins, with the formation of the four villages (Bassano, Treviso, Padua, Vicenza) along the two main roads. On the other hand, the presence of Venetian palaces and villas is scarce, evidence of how the privileged relationship that Castelfranco enjoys between Cittadella and Venice is lacking.

After the fall of the Serenissima, Cittadella also went through a period of administrative uncertainty, passing from the French to the Austrians and back to the French; the Austrian domination ends in 1866, the year in which it was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy.

Main Attractions
The Veneto, most famous for the Venetian Lagoon, is dotted with walled towns. None are so well preserved as Cittadella, you can walk the nearly 1.5 kilometers of Medieval defensive walls for a birds-eye view of the town.

The ancient city is all enclosed in the irregular circle of the walls that still preserve all around the moat with water and a green area between the walls and the moat. The road axis is characterized by the two main north-south communication roads, Bassano del Grappa – Padua -from Porta Bassano to Porta Padova- and east-west Treviso – Vicenza -from Porta Treviso to Porta Vicenza-. At their intersection is the square with the Cathedral and the civil buildings. The minor streets are inserted in a checkerboard pattern on the two main ones, developing a building with a characteristic Venetian aspect with arcades.

It was built in successive stages in a polygonal shape on orthogonal axes through the construction of 32 large and small towers, with the formation of a protective moat and with four drawbridges next to the four entrance gates. Its walls, 14 to 16 metres tall, were built with the “box masonry”: two parallel walls filled with a sturdy core of stones and hot slaked lime totaling a thickness of about 2.10 metres.

The walls today are all intact except for a stretch destroyed in the 16th century during the Cambrai war, and the skilled detail of the construction are still easily visible. It has as many as seven different construction techniques characterized by the alteration of courses in brick and those in river rocks mixed with brick can be recognized.

Among the elements of interest, the Rocca di Porta Bassano still retains the defense apparatus of the keep and entrance gates. The Casa del Capitano (Captain’s House) is found inside the Rocca (Fortress). Restoration has uncovered frescoes dating to the period of the Carraresi, Malatesta, Sanseverino and Borromeo families. They hand down an out-and-out historical account of the events that occurred between 1260 and 1600, almost replacing written documents.

To provide a better defense, the city walls originally could be traveled over on various levels through communication trenches, partly made of stone though many other stretches were made of wood or were made along the embankments that ran along the entire wall.

Today the patrol communications trench has been restored and the entire circuit is walkable. Complete restoration of Cittadella’s fortified system will be completed over the next few years with a final restoration of the walls of the northeastern and southeasters sectors and with the conclusion of the works being carried out on the gates and towers.

Inside the walls

Cathedral
The Cathedral of Cittadella was built between 1774 and 1826 by three architects including Domenico Cerato, also known for the design of the Prato della Valle in Padua. In the ancient part of the Cathedral you can admire medieval and Renaissance frescoes, including some parts of a cycle of frescoes by Jacopo Bassano. In the central body, the minor altars house paintings from different eras including “Beata Veronica Giuliani receives the stigmata” by Michele Fanoli from Cittadella and “Madonna of the belt with saints Rita, Battista and Lorenzo”, made in 1611 by Jacopo Apollonio, Jacopo Bassano’s nephew.

Praetorian Palace
This large building is located along the road near the Treviso Gate, the Eastern gate. It was once the Governor’s residence – the Governor (podestà) sent out by the City of Padova and from the 15th century on by the Republic of Venice. Its interior is striking with decoration of mock tapestry with vertical stripes, polychromatic friezes, round frames of portraits and medallions. The main portal is also notable, in red marble with a lion of St. Mark and medallions with portraits of Pandolfo and Carlo Malatesta, who were lords of Cittadella. The palace, recently restored, currently hosts the Pretorio Onlus foundation which organizes national art exhibitions.

Town Hall
The new base of the town hall reflects modern architectural styling but it is also a historic building since it hosted the elementary school and was dedicated to Vittorio Emanuele II.

Loggia Palace – Ex Town Hall
Because of its ground floor portico the building is known as “Palazzo della Loggia” and hosts the municipal police and the Pro Cittadella organization. In 1816, it was remodelled in compliance with the neoclassical canons of the architect Carlo Barera. Among the elements that date back to the pre-existing building, there is a notable frieze that runs along the ground floor portico, showing the Podestà crests and a 15th century bas-relief of the lion of St. Mark that had been hidden during the napoleonic era and was found recently inside a wall of the palace.

Theatre
The theatre rises along the street to the western gate. It was designed by Giacomo Bauto in 1817 and completed by Francesco Cibele. The elegant neoclassical façade is ascribed to Giuseppe Japelli, author, among other things, of the famous Caffè Pedrocchi in Padova. The theatre is organised according to 19th century canons: an entrance-hall, an semicircular audience-hall with stage and three rows of boxes and a smoking hall. The magnificent frescoes represent flowers, cupids and allegorical figures and were done by Francesco Bagnara, a stage designer and painter, to whom is also ascribed the decoration of the theatre “La Fenice” in Venice.

The Church of Saint Mary of the Turret
The church butted against the walls next to the Padova Gate is named after the only wedge-shaped turret in the entire boundary walls, which from the very beginning had been transformed into a bell-tower. An interesting wooden crucifix can be admired in the interior of the Church, while its side altars are surmounted by paintings. Also notable are the pulpit and medieval marble basin originating from the ancient Church of San Nicolò of Mejaniga, a village existing on the site prior to Cittadella. Currently the church hosts exhibitions.

Cathedral Museum
The Museum began to develop from 1986 with the aim of protecting, enhancing and making known the artistic treasures of the parish church of Santi Prosdocimo and Donato and other churches in the area. The works kept inside the Museum are of different nature: painting, sculpture, applied arts; all fundamental for their artistic or historical value. First of all the grandiose “Supper at Emmaus”, a masterpiece dated 1537 by Jacopo Bassano, and the “Lamentation over the Dead Christ”, attributed to Andrea da Murano, from the end of the 15th century. At the entrance to welcome visitors there is an ancient statue of Sant’Antonio Abate, which dates back to between 1300 and 1400, which reveals who the first sacred building in the walled city was dedicated to. Following are paintings, statues, sacred objects and liturgical vestments that tell us the history and faith of a community.

Tower of Malta And Civic Archaeological Museum
The mighty building on the inside of the Padova Gate is the so called “Torre di Malta”, built in 1251 by Ezzelino III of Romano, the despotic ruler of the area, as a prison for his enemies. The fortress obtained a terrible reputation in those days, because of the atrocities that were committed inside, so much so that even Dante mentioned it in his Divine Comedy. Nowadays the large halls of the tower host the Civic Archaeological Museum as well as meetings and conferences. The museum houses a fair number of archeological finds from the Bronze Age up to the Renaissance from Cittadella and surroundings.

Padova Gate (Soutern Gate)
The Padova Gate was once the main entrance to Cittadella. Frescoes (the cart of the Carraresi and the coat of arms of Padova – a red cross on a white field) stand out on the outside walls. The complex consists of 3 gates and a large arms court with a winding staircase in cylindrical masonry. The most characteristic feature of the Padova Gate is the massive “Torre di Malta” (Tower of Malta).

Western Gate
The Vicenza Gate is the western entrance of the town, a triple access system with a keep that reaches a height of about 23 m. Hardly anything is left of its outer parts nore of the drawbridges, they had been distructed during the napoleonic period by the end of the 19th century. The internal part facing the town centre is decorated with a fresco showing the crucifixion.

Bassano Gate (Northern Gate)
This gate is the most fortified and important part of the ramparts. It constituted the extreme defense of the community and was therefore isolated even towards the town centre by a moat which was ingeniously connected with the outer moat. It consisted in a system of 5 gates, 3 towards the outside and 2 towards the town centre caracterized by drawbridges and portcullis. This whole complex included the Captain’s house, premises for the garrisons, stores, well, oven and other services. The 30 m high keep still nowadays offers a wonderful view of the surroundings.

On the wall towards the town centre the keep is decorated with a fresco which represents the cart of the Carraresi family and next to it the coat of arms of Padova. Inside the complex we find the Captain’s House. During its restoration frescoes from the time of the Carraresi, the Sanseverino, the Malatesta and the Borromeo were found. A frescoed hall can be visited, you will find a setting of medieval daily life. Today the Captain’s House hosts the tourist office of Cittadella.

Eastern Gate
Porta Treviso is the eastern entrance of the town, a triple access system with a keep that reaches a height of about 23 m. Hardly anything is left of its outer parts nore of the drawbridges, they had been distructed during the napoleonic period by the end of the 19th century. The internal part facing the town centre is decorated with a fresco showing Mary’s coronation and the annunciation.

Outside the walls

Villa Ca’ Nave And Oratory of the Saviour
Located along the road which leads from the town centre to Padova the villa consists in a main building with octagonal wings and two crenellated towers. Soon after getting the noble title of the Republic of Venice Bernardo Nave decided to renovate his weekend cottage and to build a mausoleum chapel on the site of an antic xenodochio named after S. Lazzaro. By 1689 the chapel dedicated to the Saviour was built: the front is made of masonry and white marble of Verona under the direction of the architect Antonio Gaspari who took his inspiration from the famous architect Palladio. The decorations of the interior can be considered a precious and homogeneous example of paintings and statues of the late 17th century. The fresco decorations are assignable to the french painter Louis Dorigny, the marble statues and the busts to the Flemish Le Court.

Monastery San Francesco
The monastery of the Franciscan Fathers was built around 1481 and has always been a very active spiritual centre. The beautiful cloister was built around a simple belltower. It has porticoes on two sides with interesting sailceilings in its interiors. The church has but one nave, three altars with altar pieces, frescoes and burial places of important families. The monastery keeps some paintings by Venetian painters of the 17th and 18th century, including “Madonna con il Bambino tra i Santi Francesco e Antonio da Padova” (Our Lady and Child with the Saints Francesco and Anthony of Padova).

Church of San Donato
The ancient baptismal church of San Donato is located just about two km down south of Cittadella along the road that leads to Padova. This ancient place of worship turnt into the first Christian church of a large district as from the sixth century on, playing a key role all the way through 1376 when the larger cathedral in Cittadella took over its functions. The church is a medieval building with apse and was built with pebbles from the river Brenta just like the city walls of Cittadella. The interior is divided in 3 naves and covered with a truss roof. One can admire frescoes from the 14th century and Longobard findings.

Church Santa Lucia Di Brenta
Santa Lucia di Brenta is the church of an isolated Benedictine monastery which was located on the banks of the river Brenta already before the 12th century. The church was devastated and abandoned during the 14th century. When it reopened in the 16th century it had been beautifully decorated with frescos by Jacopo dal Ponte and was now part of a little village. The church was in service until 1867 but after that it is not mentioned anymore. After the second world war Giuseppe Cappello, free member of the ministry of cultural heritage tracked down the church because of a little book of accounts: hardly anything was left over from the religious buildings apart one of them which had been transformed into a poor farm house where apartment, stables, cellars and sheds occupied a building no longer than 15 m.

Oratory of the Cà Micheli
The baroque oratory Cà Micheli in Santa Croce Bigolina has been built in 1744 by the noble venetian family Michel and has been dedicated to the Virgin Mary Carmine. The oratory was finished on novembre 19th of the same year and in 1754 provided with the relics of the blessed Gregorio Barbarigo, Saint Luigi Gonzaga, Saint Gaetano of Thiene, the wood of the holy cross and the robe of pope Pius V. The interior shows an octagonal map and on the altar the marble statues of the Madonna with child, Saint Luis and Saint Gaetano. The floor of the choir presents polychrome marble inlaids.

Activities

Medieval Re-Enactment
Over the last weekend of September the Association “Arme,Dame e Cavalieri” (Weapons, Ladies and Knights) organizes in Cittadella a historical re-enactment using the ramparts and other important sites in Cittadella as the background. During these two days the square and the streets are transformed into a medieval town with armed men, archers, musicians and jesters, historical games, medieval markets and antic crafts as well as special attractions like falconry with different birds of prey.

Voices from the Middle Ages
In the fourth weekend of September, the Association of Weapons Ladies and Knights organizes the Historical Reenactment in Cittadella, set in the period most relevant to the town, its monuments and the imposing walls. In these two days there will be settings in the square and in the street, such as the camps of men of arms, historical archery, the itinerant participation of musicians and jesters, historical games, the medieval market and ancient crafts. A particular show will be the evolutions of falconry with various types of birds of prey and interactive participation of the public.The re-enactment will end at sunset with torchlight procession, fireworks and fire of the Castle.

October Franca Fair
The “Fiera Franca di Cittadella” is one of the most important yearly events in Cittadella. The fair has ancient origins. It dates back to 1231 when Padua decided to give the privileges of the market from the nearby Onara to Cittadella. It always lasted three days and during these days thousands and thousands of visitors from the entire Province came to Cittadella. There are stalls selling local fresh produce, local crafts and lots of stands selling food and drink around the old town. There is a fairground for children and teenagers near the sports centre.

In the industrial area there is a big cattle market. Until a few years ago the cattle market used to take place in the area between the moat and the old wall. On the last evening of the fair to conclude is a light show on the wall accompanied by music and fireworks. This attracts many residence, visitors and tourists who wouldn’t want to miss the “setting on fire” of the walls.

Christmas Time
During Advent and over Christmas there is a little Christmas market in Piazza Scalco with quaint little houses made of wood, where food, wine and artisan products are sold. The shops have extended opening hours and the streets of the old town are lit with fairy lights and filled with music, creating a very Christmassy atmosphere. In the Church of the Torresino there is a crib scene. The exhibition aims to highlight the creative and passionate work of the artists and artisans in the area, who year after year recreate the Nativity in an ever new and original way.