Cittadella and its ramparts: Instameet #Canonofbeauty

Last Saturday I got the occasion to go somewhere I’ve always dreamed of…I got the occasion to visit Cittadella, a fortified and walled city in North Italy.

Igers Padova (Padova Instagramers community) in cooperation with Canon Italy, and Cittadella Tourist Office IAT have organized “Instameet Canon of Beauty”.  Instameet Canon of Beauty it’s a wonderful tour around Cittadella and its parapet walkaway. I had the chance to walk on one of the best preserved chemin de ronde in Europe, and to take photos of the city from a particular point of view.  Canon has given us the chance to choose between several Canon devices, and if you downloaded the Canon app in your smartphone, you had the opportunity to easily and quickly transfer all the photos on your mobile phone. Thanks to Canon Italy and Instagramers Italy we spent the afternoon discovering this walled town, and taking photos with a wonderful Canon 80D.

CITTADELLA

Cittadella it’s a nice city located in North-East Italy, less than 39 km far from Padova,  and close to other beautiful cities: Vicenza (km. 22), Treviso (km. 38) Bassano del Grappa (km. 14) and Venice (km. 60).

Cittadella, founded in 1220 by the city of Padua, is an ancient village (a burg) built up as a fortified city to defend the city of Padua. In the 13th century after Ezzelino III da Romano domination, the city returns for almost a century under the Paduan family Carraresi. (The Carraresis was an important family in the midden ages). From the 15th century onward, Cittadella was conquered by the Venetians (La Serenissima), and later, in the Napoleonic age, the town came under French and then under Austrian domination.

The walls  built up as a defensive system of the city are now as an historical heritage of the city, and one of the examples of city walls intact, well preserved, and walkable, thanks also to recent restoration.

The walls have an elliptical form, a perimeter of nearly 1.5km, around 2 meters wide, and a height of 14 meters.

The internal spaces are arranged on a geometrical system of Roman origin, based on the two main axes that crossed the city (from Northbound to Southbound, from Eastbound to Westbound) and connect the four main gates. The four main gates (in Italian called “Porta”) located at the end of axes are pointed the four nearest cities: Padua, Vicenza, Bassano del Grappa and Treviso, and for this reason are called: Porta Padua, Porta Vicenza, Porta Bassano and Porta Treviso. Currently the bridges are masonry, but originally these were drawbridges, under which flowed a wide moat.

The parapet walkway starts from Tourist Office located near Porta Bassano and starting from here you can walk on the top of the ramparts and proceed from Porta Vicenza, towards Porta Padova, and Porta Treviso, and you will get a nice view of the town hall. A walking on history that will allow you to admire the city and imagine how hence Cittadella (or Cittadella town) was more than six hundreds years ago.

Thanks to the very recent restoration the walls can now be entirely visited. The section between Porta Padova towards Porta Treviso has been opened only in 2013, and from this section you can admire  Cittadella Cathedral (known as “Duomo”) as well as the Pretorial Palace.

From here you can enjoy the unique experience the a chance to look down on the city  and to admire the colorful roofs, the streets, the small shops….

WHAT ELSE CAN YOU VISIT?

• Theater
• Cathedral (Duomo)
• Pinacoteca (Gallery
• Pretorial Palace

For information, tickets, and working hours visit Cittadella Tourist Office

INFORMATION

Tourist Office
Porta Bassano, 2 -Casa del Capitano
www.visitcittadella.it

Fare: 5.00€

• Reduced fare 3€ for: residents of Cittadella, children over 3 years up to 17 years, students, Over 65, teachers, groups of at least 10 people
• Special fare: 4€ for members Touring Club Italy
• Family fare: 14€ (2 adults and 2 kids)
• Children under 3 years are free.

Summer Hours (April 1st – October 31st)
Monday -Friday: 9 – 13 / 14 – 18
Saturday and Sunday: 9 – 19
Winter Hours (November 1st – March 31st)
Monday – Friday: 9 – 13 / 14 – 16
Saturday and Sunday 17
(closed on January 1st, December 25th)