Background :
From the data and artifacts found it is certain that the area in which Cittadella is located has always been a theater and source of interest for the various civilizations, which have followed one another over the centuries in the area, before the Romans and later the Longobards.
1220: foundation of the city, which being right in the heart of the Po Valley, needs to be protected and safeguarded from the expansionist aims of the neighboring municipalities such as Treviso and Vicenza and it is precisely for this reason that it was decided to create a real fortified city .
1237-1256: the city was ruled by the tyrant Ezzelino III da Romano who built the Tower of Malta (still visible today) and made it one of the most cruel and horrid prisons of the time.
1300: the city becomes a Paduan capital under the control of the Carraresi of Padua.
1400: citadel like most of the Veneto was conquered by the Venetians.
1800: after the fall of the Serenissima (1797) and Napoleon's conquest of the whole north, in the early 1800s Cittadella and the whole of Veneto passed under the control of the Austrians until 1866 when the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed.
Currently Cittadella covers an area of about 36 square kilometers and has about 20,000 inhabitants.
GOOD REASONS TO VISIT CITADEL
Perhaps not everyone knows this, but the walls of Cittadella are the only ones in Europe to have a completely practicable elliptical walkway. The walls were undoubtedly created for defensive purposes, with an average height of about 14 meters and with a perimeter that measures about 1500 meters. The walls have 32 towers of various sizes of which: 4 towers corresponding to the 4 access gates to the city (Bassano-la main, Treviso, Venice and Padua), 12 towers and 16 small towers. The fortified work is the result of a work that lasted many years, in fact, at first those that were defensive structures of wood and earth with simple gates and moats, then gave way to more advanced masonry works composed of towers, battlements and arches. The walls have no foundations but they are supported by embankments, made entirely of material obtained from the pits, resting inside and outside of the same.
A real "walk through history" that allows you to observe the entire city from an unprecedented point of view. In fact, the 1500 meters of patrol walkway can be covered in full at a height of 15 meters. Walkway that was once used by the guards to defend the city from above in case of a siege. If the view inside the walls allows you to observe the entire city from a new point of view, turning your gaze and observing outside the walls, you can admire the unique landscape of the surrounding countryside with the Euganean Hills, the Berici Mountains. , the Pedemontana and Monte Grappa on the horizon.
The opening of the patrol walkway took place on June 8, 2013 after 20 years of work and restoration; since that day more and more tourists and onlookers decide to live this unique experience that throughout the year is the scene of numerous events and themed evenings with extraordinary night openings.
The city walls can be visited every day and for more information the IAT Tourist Office which is located right inside the Captain's house, in Porta Bassano, will be able to give you useful advice that is always updated based also on the calendar of events. walkway, there are many splendid gardens of the private period villas built right at the foot of the internal walls and a whole series of historic buildings that are worth admiring or deciding to visit later such as: the Duomo, the Teatro Sociale, the Palazzo della Loggia, the Town Hall and Palazzo Pretorio.
Boat rental to navigate around the walls
Externally there is the moat that surrounds the walls, once twice as wide and deep as we see it today and which in the period between March and October becomes another great way to see Cittadella from a different point of view, or by renting a boat and sailing along the entire perimeter in the waters of the ancient moat. time to live during one of his splendid events.When this is possible ..
