Padua - Surroundings

About 8km/5mi northeast of Montagnana is the medieval village of Arquà Petrarca (80m/264ft) where Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) (1304-74) died. His tomb (1380) and the 14th century house in which he lived are open to the public.

6km/4mi south of Montegrotto Terme, on the A 13, is Battaglia Terme, another spa in the surroundings of Padua.

Beyond Stra, at the straggling village of Mira (6m/20ft), the road crosses a broad lateral canal, the Taglio Nuovissimo di Brenta, and in another 15km/9mi reaches the Piazzale Roma in Venice.

Villa Widmann-Foscari-Rezzonico is worth a visit when passing through Mira.

15km/9 mi farther west is Montagnana (16m/53ft; pop. 10,000), with medieval town walls and 24 battlemented towers, best seen from the ring road which makes a circuit of the town. Outside the Porta Padova, on the east side of the town, is the Villa Pisani (by Palladio, 1560). In the town center are the Gothic Romanesque cathedral (15th century) and the Palazzo Pretorio (16th century), now the Town Hall.

A popular spa with hot springs is Montegrotto Terme (10m/33ft), where the remains of Roman baths and a theater have been brought to light.