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Then it became a feudal territory of the Marchesi d' Este and, after the
defeat of Ezzelino da Romano (12th-13th century), it passed under the
influence of the Commune of Padua and, successively, under the Signoria of the
Carraresi.
Because of its position on the border between
the territories of Verona and Padua Montagnana had great military importance.
The town's defensive walls were first built in the early Middle Ages partly in
stone and partly as wooden structures in order to protect the population and
buildings from the incursions of Northern and Eastern peoples. Ezzelino da
Romano started the building of the Castle (called San Zeno) and of the tower
(called Mastio - donjon - of Ezzelino).
In the Fourteenth Century the Carraresi,
masters of Padua, enlarged the boundary of the city and built the walls, as
Montagnana was a western outpost of the territory of Padua against the
territory of the Scaligeri of Verona. Under the Venetian Republic (1405-1797)
Montagnana was a flourishing cultural and agricultural centre, providing hemp
for the Venetian ships.
Today, Montagnana has 10,000 inhabitants
working mainly in trade and craft occupations such as its characteristic ham
and old fashioned furniture. The fortified city centre remains one of the best
preserved and most charming examples of a walled city in Europe. Its
attractions include the traditional "Palio" (horse-race and costumed
procession) on the first Sunday in September, the Antique Fair in April and
May and the Antique Market on the third weekend of every month.
The Castle San Zeno (restored and re-opened
in 1997) now hosts the town museum, the Municipal Historical Archive, the
Library and some cultural groups such as the Prototeatro Theatre Company and
the Castles Study Centre. The Castle and the donjon can be visited during the
Museum's opening hours. The Castles Study Centre was founded in 1954 under the
sponsorship of the Council of Montagnana, following the initiative of local
scholars. Until 1964 it housed the IBI (Internationales Burgen Institut) and
the Istituto Italiano Castelli (Italian Castles Institute, Rome, Castel Sant'
Angelo).
This Centre is committed to the study and
protection of the city's mediaeval walls and to the collection and cataloguing
of manuscripts, cartography, documents and publications concerning Italian and
European Castles; it possesses a library of more than 2,000 volumes, a
collection of reproductions of graphic art, newspapers and periodicals and
bibliographical data. The C.N.R. (National Council for Research) has financed
the computerisation of the bibliographical inventory, making it easy to search
for data by keyword (author, title, subject, etc).
More information about Montagnana can be
found on our own website,
and we can be contacted directly by email.
Amelia
I Cittadella
I Corinaldo I
Gradara I Montagnana
I
Padua I
Soave
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