Cittadella: a walled city of medieval origins in the heart of the Euganean Hills

The small town of Cittadella in the province of Padua boasts one of the few examples in the world of a defensive castle walkway with an intact pathway, perfectly feasible…

Citadella was founded by the Da Carrara Lords of Padua in 1220 to defend the countryside from the nearby enemy cities of Vicenza and Treviso; it was conquered in 1237 by the terrible local squire Ezzelino Romano and then returned under Padua in 1251.  In 1406 Cittadella passed under the dominion of the Venetian Republic.

Walking along the incredible curtain wall that surrounds the city, you can trace the history of this incredible fortified place and discover life in the Middle Ages thanks to accurate historical reconstructions.

In the tower of Malta, built in 1251 by the tyrant Ezzelino to imprison his enemies, there is also an archaeological museum. Here you can discover that before the medieval fortified village, a Bronze Age settlement was located here.

The tower of Malta became notorious for conditions of pain and torture to which prisoners were subjected; the bodies were left to dry in the sun as a horrific warning to all Ezzelino's enemies. Dante's Divine Comedy cites the Tower of Malta as an example of an atrocious prison (Paradiso, canto IX, verses 52-54).

If you are on holiday in Padova, do not forget to plan a visit to this beautiful medieval toewn located less than an hour from the historic centre of Padua!