Arqua Petrarca

Arqua' Petrarca Province Treviso

Perhaps it was the same atmosphere of serene romanticism as today that made Petrarch fall in love with this medieval town. Still well preserved, elegant palaces and villas stand in the historical centre, while all around there is the quiet sentimentality of the Euganean hills.

Petrarch arrived in this small town in 1370. He was so bewitched by the extraordinary beauty of the environment that he decided to set up home in a house in the countryside. The tradition goes that the house was a gift from Francesco da Carrara, a gentleman from Padua.

Petrarch died a few years later in 1374, and was buried in a tomb of red marble from Verona in the centre of the main square, opposite Pieve di St. Maria.

Every year thousands of people visit his house, where relics and evidence have been collected about his life. All of the rooms are decorated with interesting frescoes inspired by his poetry.

However, Arquà actually has a much older history.

In the small lake of the same name, which is located at a short distance from the town, remains have been found of lake-dwellers. These document the existence of habitation in Prehistoric times, perhaps one of the most ancient in the whole of the Euganean region.

Today this small 13th century jewel remains a place where one can walk in silence along its paved streets beneath the airy arcades, appreciating the architecture, such as the many small palaces in typical Venetian style.

A enormous historical fortune that has been recovered and valued over the last ten years, so much so that Arquà Petrarca is now a member of the "Most beautiful villages in Italy". (Foto by Aquila della Notte)