The walled village of Montagnana

Are you looking for an ancient and elegant walled city to visit? Do you want to spend a weekend walking through the narrow streets and discovering a very special village? If you are in the province of Padua, then Montagnana is the place for you.

This walled town is located in the Paduan territory and is one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. Its name is Motta Aeniana, from which Montagnana is derived from Motta, which in Latin means a small hill, and Aeniana in reference to a villa or a post station. Located only 50 km from Verona, it has a charm and splendor that recalls times past. Its walls are about 2 km long and are some of the best preserved in the world.

Once you cross the threshold of the walls of Montagnana, there are many things to see and discover inside, let yourself be overwhelmed by the magic of a unique place in the world and an extraordinary journey through time.

What to see in Montagnana

Surely, among the main attractions of Montagnana, there are the historic fortified walls that can be walked both inside and outside. The walls were intended to defend the city from the barbarian invasions and were built in 1242 by Ezzelino III da Romano together with the Castle of San Zeno.

The walls had 24 towers and were built in bricks and trachyte from the Euganean Hills. A large external moat made the assault on the country even more impervious. Walking outside the walls you can see one of the Palladian villas, Villa Pisani, built in the mid-1500s for the Venetian nobleman Francesco Pisani dal Palladio which today is private property.

In front of Palladio's villa, the castle of San Zeno still stands solidly. It is a rectangular building with an internal courtyard protected by two lookout towers and a 38-meter-high keep that dominates the urban core. The keep of Ezzelino is the most interesting point to admire Montagnana from above, while in the castle there is the Civic Museum with numerous archaeological finds from the Neolithic and Roman times.

Once you have climbed the keep, walked through the walls, and walked through the streets of the village, it is time to stop and taste a typical product of the place, Prosciutto Crudo Berico Euganeo DOP. The salami factories in the area can be visited and you can discover many things about this delicacy that can only be found here. In the surroundings of Montagnana, the Bevilacqua Castle is worth a visit, a medieval castle that today is the seat of organized events and seals the love of many couples.