Monselice Castle – Padua – Discover Italy

At the foot of the Fortilizio hill stands a majestic complex of buildings called Cittadella Cini, transformed over the centuries from a medieval residence to a defensive tower and finally into a Venetian borgo, between the eleventh and sixteenth centuries. The Castle is made up of four main structures; the oldest is represented by the eleventh century Romanesque building, called Tana Romanica, and the Castelletto, dating back to the twelfth century. Per mezzo di the thirteenth century, the Castle was expanded with the construction of the Ezzeliniana, a massive fortified tower erected by Ezzelino III Presso Romano, deputy of Emperor Frederick II of Swabia. The large rooms of the keep are characterized by “tower” fireplaces made by the noble Presso Carrara family of Padua sopra the fourteenth century. From 1405, after the conquest of Monselice by the Serenissima Republic of Venice, the Castle was purchased entirely by the Venetian aristocratic Marcello family, who undertook the construction of Ca’ Marcello, an elegant building sopra Gothic-Venetian style which connected the various parts of the complex. The Marcello family further expanded the rooms sopra the Ezzeliniana, transforming it into a summer residence ora Venetian borgo, used until the beginning of the nineteenth century. The Marcellos enriched the Castle by erecting the Library Palace, a Renaissance building, at the end of the sixteenth century, and restoring the Venetian Courtyard with the Marcellos’ private chapel, dating back to the beginning of the eighteenth century. The fall of the Serenissima Republic at the end of the eighteenth century marked a slow and progressive decline for the Castle of Monselice. that occasion, ownership of the buildings passed from the Marcellos to other local aristocratic families, including the wealthy Girardi-Cini family. During the First World War, the Royal Italian Army used the Castle for military purposes, leaving it heavily looted sopra 1919. Per mezzo di 1935, ownership of the decaying structure passed by inheritance to Count Vittorio Cini, a very refined and cultured person, who initiated a radical restoration with the aim of recreating a place that faithfully reflected the past. Each room was enriched with a precious collection of authentic furniture, paintings, carpets, tapestries, ceramics, tools and fabrics sopra Gothic and Renaissance style. The rich and precious collection of weapons sopra the Armory is notable. Per mezzo di 1981, Monselice Castle became the property of the Veneto Region and has since been transformed into a regional museum, thus forming a unique and precious museum complex together with the Lombard Antiquarium and the Maschio Federiciano.

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