What to see in Montagnana, itinerary including the main monuments and places of interest, including San Zeno Castle, Rocca degli Alberi, Church of San Francesco, town hall and Villa Pisani.
Tourist information
Strategically positioned between Verona and Padua, Montagnana is a city surrounded by medieval walls, which since Roman times has played an important defensive function.
Semi-destroyed at the time of the barbarian invasions, Montagnana was affected by various dominations in medieval times, first linking its fate to that of the Republic of Venice in 1405.
The city wall, having a perimeter about two kilometers long, is perfectly preserved.
The robust wall, which is crowned with battlements and a patrol path, includes 245 hexagonal towers and four doors.
To further reinforce the structure there are two other fortifications, the Castle of San Zeno and the Rocca degli Alberi.
The Castle, built in 1242 by Ezzelino da Romano, consists of a square-plan keep and two towers placed at the corners.
The Rocca degli Alberi, built by the Carraresi in the second half of the fourteenth century, is considered one of the most effective defensive systems of the time.
What see
The medieval village, which is crossed by Via Carrarese, is characterized by arcades overlooked by typical palaces, among which the Municipal Palace stands out, an imposing Sammichelian ashlar construction on which three arches open.
The large dimensions of the Cathedral are highlighted by two buttresses located on the sides, in addition, the bare gabled facade is embellished by the Sansovino portal and pinnacles.
In the large interior with a single nave in Renaissance style, there is a remarkable Ascension created by Giovanni Buonconsiglio, the altarpiece by Paolo Veronese which depicts the Transfiguration, the fresco with astrological symbols and the canvas of the Battle of Lepanto.
Recommended readings- Veneto: Sunday day trips
- Schio (Veneto): what to see
- Vigo di Cadore (Veneto): what to see
- Vittorio Veneto: what to see
- Agordo (Veneto): what to see
The Church of San Francesco, located in via delle Mura and dating back to the fourteenth century, with subsequent reworkings, contains in the apse a remarkable altarpiece by Palma il Giovane.
Leaving the walls, it is advisable to see Villa Pisani, a sixteenth-century building, which has a central body made more sober by the presence of a double loggia, with a triangular tympanum, and a raised entablature that develops along the entire perimeter of the building .
In the surroundings of Montagnana, about fifteen kilometers away, is Legnago, a center of the plain of the Adige river which was part of the Austrian defensive quadrilateral in the nineteenth century.
In front of the Cathedral of Legnago stands the imposing tower, which is the only part of the ancient fortress left.
