Euganean Hills

The Euganean Hills are volcanic hills just south of Padua.

View from Petrarch's House. There are many vineyards and villas scattered throughout the hills.

View from the top of the town of Arqua Petrarca.

Arqua Petrarca has been inhabited since the 1000s BC. It is most famous for being the town where Petrarch spent his twilight years (1370-1374). The Petrarca portion of the town name was added later in his honor (or possibly for tourism reasons).

Italian Airborne Memorial

Venice ruled this territory during the zenith of its land empire in the 1400s.

Petrarch's tomb is located in the bottom part of town. The grave has been defiled numerous times by locals and overzealous academics. His body resided at the University of Padua for a while, where someone probably stole his skull.

Graffiti next to Petrarch's house in the upper part of town.

Petrarch's House

Petrarch's house has had numerous owners since his death.

Who knows why Petrarch is chasing this Goose.

One of the owners of Petrarch's house claimed he found his mummified cat. Good conversation piece.

Osteria al Guerriero is an excellent restaurant in town. Make sure to try the Prosecco.

Este is a town on the southern edge of the hills.

Carrarese Castle was built by the powerful Este family in the 12th and 13th centuries. They ended up ruling small kingdoms centered in Ferrara to the south and Modena to the west, as well as starting the Guelph faction in Germany.

Ubertino da Carrara enlarged the castle in the 14th century while he was ruler of Padua and its neighbors. The Carraresi liberated Padua from the Veronese della Scala family in 1338. They did not rule long; Venice took over Padua (and Este), and captured or killed the male members of the family in 1406.

The Museo Nazionale Atestino houses archeological finds from the pre-Celtic Este culture and Roman town of Ateste.

The ancient people of Este were fond of rams.

Sphinx

The difference between Este's bronze foils and the nearby Veneti's aesthetics is striking

They were also good at making pins.

I'm not sure if the Romans were a positive influence.

Roman tomb stones.

This toy is from the 800s-900s BC.

And makes a great mascot.

Praglia Abbey was founded in 1080 and located in the northeast corner of the hills. The monks give many daily tours.

At times it was also used as a military barracks and storage depot.

The monks are industrious; they grow their own grapes and herbs, and keep bees.

And sell a variety of delicious wine and honey!