Once loved by a poet, a place becomes eternal, suspended between the past of an unrepeatable era and a present of sweet nostalgia that transforms getting lost into finding oneself.

Vast forests of chestnut, walnut, beech, ash and oak covered the slopes of Arquà but, above all, the vine, the olive and the almond tree contributed to creating the evocative and typical landscape.

It was 1369 when Francesco the Elder, Lord of Padua, gave the poet Petrarch a piece of land at  Arquà ,  in the green heart of the Euganean Hills. A locus amoenus in which to take refuge in an infinite time, punctuated by sonnets and emotion.

For information and advice on places to discover around Abano Terme, you can  write here  or call (+39)  049 8668099.

Petrarch’s house

A shelter for the great storms of life, an  oasis  in which to enjoy the sweetness of one’s final years, a gateway to that elsewhere in which feelings are so close they can be explained in authentic poetry.
Arquà was this and much more for Petrarch who, with his daughter Francesca, his son-in-law Francescuolo and his granddaughter Eletta, could admire the rural spectacle of the gentle Euganean slopes from his cottage.

Not straying too far from my church, here among the Euganean hills,
not ten miles from Padua,
I built a small but lovely house, surrounded by an olive grove and a vineyard
that give enough for a large but modest family.
And here, although ill, I live in complete tranquillity, far from any confusion,
anxiety and worry, spending my time reading and writing.

Closing one’s eyes we can almost see Petrarch in his study, with a blanket on his legs, browsing through his beloved books, as if there were nothing else in life but love expressed through ink.

In  via Valleselle,  the poet’s life sill animates the rare familiar objects between the walls that tell of his most beautiful works: the Canzoniere (the Songbook), Trionfi (Triumphs), Africa. Stories of worlds far away or very close, interior or resoundingly concrete.

SS Trinità Oratory and Loggia dei Vicari

A town that has been caressed thousands and thousands of times by the serene and gentle pace of a tired step, nearing its end. In  via Castello, to this day, one can pray at the  Oratory of the Holy Trinity: it was here that the poet came at the  end of the day, after the meeting with town leaders in  Loggia dei Vicari.  Today, the seventeenth-century altar is framed by the Trinity of Palma the Young and by the statues of St. Cristoforo and St. Lucia.

Church of St. Maria, fountain and tomb of Petrarch

When the poet breathed his last breath, among his beloved books on the night between 18 and 19 July 1374, the funeral was held in the church of  St. Maria Assunta.

Since then, embraced by roses and orchards, his tomb rests in an ark of red marble built by his son-in-law, next to the same fountain from which he drew water. On the front arch we read the couplet in Latin:”A deity lives in this source, o stranger: worship this water, drinking it Petrarch was able to sing divine verses.”

Masiero and Centanin musical foundation

Having accompanied the poet through the narrow streets of the town that bears his name, one can admire  the exhibition of 25 pianos from the 18th and 19th centuries –  grands, tables, uprights – at the Centanin villa in  via degli Ulivi. In the month of July, during the Euganean Summer Festival, the Orchestra delle Venezie fills the air with delicate notes.

After visiting this small temple of poetry, one can relive the atmosphere of lights, scents and aromas in the exclusive Arquà Petrarca SPA  at Hotel Tritone.

For more information on local beauty, or on how to book your stay, you can  write here  or call (+39)  049 8668099.