CASTLE OF THE ESTENSE (*) (Arquà Polesine)
The fortress of Arquà, built in 1146, commonly known as the Estense Castle, is one of the few buildings in Italy that enjoys the prerogative of double registration in the register of castles and historical residences. The architecture is of medieval origin and is the most important and best preserved in the whole Province, as well as the only material evidence of the vast network of fortifications that guarded the Canal Bianco. The building was commissioned by Guglielmo III Marchesella degli Adelardi, lord of Ferrara, to oppose the Este who were pressing on the territory of Rovigo. In a short time, in 1187, the complex became the property of the Casa d'Este. Together with the entire Polesine region, the castle of Arquà passed under the government of the Serenissima in 1395 in exchange for a financial loan. The Venetians established a real military garrison, equipping the castle with a garrison of soldiers. The original defensive configuration, necessary to hold one of the key places in Polesine, came to an end after the Venetian victory in the Salt War (about 1480-1484). After the years between 1438 and 1482, during which ownership of the building returned to the Estensi, the Venetian Republic finally ceded it to the Diedo family. In the sixteenth century all the existing Este military fortifications were demolished except the castrum of Arquà as it was located in a strategically important corner, being an obligatory passage through the Canal Bianco and, further on, the Po, between the Ferrara and Veneto territories. The Diedo, a family of probable Venetian origins, transformed the castle into a more comfortable and luxurious noble country residence and embellished it with fresco paintings, having one of the watchtowers knocked down, among other things.
Where:
Via Castello, 2
45031 Arquà Polesine (RO)
Opening hours:
Info: tel. 0425 91051 / www.comune.arqua.ro.it
BALZAN COLLECTION (*) (Badia Polesine)
The works of the Balzan Collection were exhibited for the first time in Zurich in 1944 After the sudden death of Eugenio on July 15, 1953, the valuable Collection passed into the hands of his daughter Angela Lina. With the important establishment of the Balzan International Foundation, desired by the sole heir to her father's considerable estate, the Collection also became the property of the Foundation itself. In the first months of 2014 the Municipality of Badia Polesine obtains, in fact, on loan for an indefinite period, the entire collection which is exhibited at the Ridotto of the precious Social Theatre, also named after Eugenio Balzan. The important collection and gives back to scholars and visitors extraordinary works of art of nineteenth and twentieth century Italian painting, as well as making known an important aspect of Balzan's fellow-citizen: his great passion for art. The collection is made up of 49 works created by 26 Italian painters and includes some of the absolute heights of painting of the time.
Where:
c/o il Teatro Sociale "E. Balzan" Via Danieli
45021 Badia Polesine (RO)
Opening hours:
Info: tel. 0425 51766 / www.collezionebalzan.it
ETHNOGRAPHICAL MUSEUM "A L'ALBORON" (*) (Costa di Rovigo)
The Ethnographic Museum "a l'alboron" - Costa di Rovigo in time - collects, archives and enhances documents and historical finds related to the social, economic and religious history of the territory of Costa di Rovigo. Since it is a socio-economic reality with a prevalently agricultural vocation, the museum boasts a thematic and exhibition itinerary mainly focused on the rhythm of the seasons which, from the most remote times, have deeply shaped the life of the farming communities by regulating their food resources and the availability of raw materials. After a brief presentation of the Costa di Rovigo plain and its genesis, the visitor has the opportunity to follow the development of the annual production cycle, as witnessed by the numerous and particular agricultural tools, to identify with a domestic environment, to appreciate the essentiality of the artisan tasks and to acquire information on the history of this small but ancient settlement built on the banks of the Adigetto.
Where:
Via Dante, 286
45023 Costa di Rovigo (RO)
Opening hours:
Info: tel. 0425 407272 / www.comune.costadirovigo.ro.it
NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM (*) (Fratta Polesine)
Located in one of the two barns of Villa Badoer, the Archaeological Museum of Fratta Polesine represents the culmination of over forty years of research in the Po Delta. It collects important examples of villages of the Late Bronze Age that developed along the ancient course of the river Po. The core of the exhibition is made up of the findings of an archaeological complex that is today considered among the most representative, at European level, for the late Bronze Age (XII-X centuries BC): the findings of the village of Frattesina and its necropolis, identified in the two locations of Narde and Fondo Zanotto.
The tour offers a deep cognitive experience of great value, a source of interest not only for an expert audience but also for those who approach the world of archeology for the first time.
Where:
Via Giovanni Tasso, 1
45025 Fratta Polesine (RO)
Opening hours:
Info: tel. 0425 668523 / www.visit-fratta.it
MANEGIUM (Fratta Polesine)
The manor house, whose original construction dates back to the sixteenth century, has an elongated shape and stands on three floors of which the last, the attic, was originally intended as a barn. The building was donated by the heirs of the Boniotti family to the cultural and research group called "Manegium". This is a non-profit organization that deals with historic, artistic, archaeological and ethnographic researches on this territory, that in ancient times was called precisely "Manegium."
In the completely restored Manegium Palace, there are now several permanent exhibitions: the Ethnographic Museum display on the civilization of work in Polesine, a historical-documentary exhibition on the Carbonari from Polesine, a display on local people faith and religious beliefs and a collection of stuffed animals.
Where:
Via Riviera Scolo, 11
45025 Fratta Polesine (RO)
Opening hours:
Info: tel. 340 2246742 (Adriano Azzi), 347 2281463 (Domizio Gabanella) / www.visit-fratta.it / www.museoetnograficomanegium.it
VILLA BADOER (*) (Fratta Polesine)
Overlooking the Scortico Canal, the villa was commissioned by Francesco Badoer to the great architect Andrea Palladio.
The date of its construction is uncertain, but in 1557 the main body was already there and the villa is mentioned in Palladio's Four Books in 1570.
In the middle of a green lawn, stands the residential building with its simple volume and its monumental vestibule with a pediment proceeded by a wide, articulated staircase. On the sides, the barns stretch out in a semicircle on slender columns (the ‘barn’, in Venetian villas, was a side wing used as a dwelling or services).
The villa was decorated by Giallo Fiorentino who painted, in the vestibule and in the interior, imaginative grotesques that were recovered during the restoration works carried out by the Regional Venetian Villas Institute.
The villa has been declared a heritage monument by UNESCO and is the natural container for the organization of meetings, conferences, exhibitions, theatrical plays, opera and ballet.
Where:
Via Giovanni Tasso, 1
45025 Fratta Polesine (RO)
Opening hours:
Info: tel. 366 3240619 / www.visit-fratta.it
GIACOMO MATTEOTTI'S HOUSE MUSEUM (Fratta Polesine)
The House-Museum tells the story of Giacomo Matteotti’s family. Matteotti was born in Fratta Polesine in 1885 and was buried in the family tomb of the local cemetery in 1924.
In the years between the two world wars, Matteotti dared to oppose against a new ruler and paid for his love of justice and freedom with his own life.
Giacomo was a law graduate and served in the Socialist Party. A passionate advocate of the rights of the lower classes, he was elected deputy in the Council of Ferrara.
For denouncing the electoral fraud that brought to power the Fascist Party, Matteotti was murdered in a cowardly and vicious way on June 10, 1924. His body now rests in an austere mausoleum in the cemetery of Fratta.
Where:
Via Ruga
45025 Fratta Polesine (RO)
Opening hours:
Info: tel. 366 3240619 / www.visit-fratta.it / www.casamuseogiacomomatteotti.it
THE PIZZON ECO-MUSEUM (Fratta Polesine)
By the village of Pizzon di Fratta, we can find the point of confluence between the river Scortico and the Canalbianco. This is a very unique place because of its landscape, agricultural architecture and industrial archeology.
As far as industrial archeology is concerned, there are two important artifacts. The first is a large mill (Mulino – Al Pizzon), the only example of a mill that worked with water in a completely flat land as the Po Delta. In fact, it took advantage of the difference in height of the water level between the Scortico and the Canalbianco. The second is a navigation lock supported by mitre gates whose windows still exist.
These locks are testimony of one of the first waterways in Polesine. They were implanted in the mid-nineteenth century and they retraced, as a form of transport industry, the waterways used by Venetian nobles in 1500s to get to their villas in Fratta (among which are the Palladian Badoer and Grimani Molin).
Where:
Via Pizzon, 945
45025 Fratta Polesine (RO)
Opening hours:
Info: tel. 393 9541500 / www.locandaalpizzon.com
POLESAN RESURGENCE MUSEUM (*) (Lendinara)
The Museum of the Risorgimento is housed in the attic rooms of Palazzo Boldrin, which became the "Citadel of Culture" from 2016. The museum offers an exhibition of documents and memorabilia related to the Risorgimento period, which tell us about the civil and political commitment of two of its extraordinary protagonists: the Lendinarese Alberto Mario and his English wife Jessie White. The path allows us to relive, through the biographical story of this exceptional couple, the entire parable of our Risorgimento.
The museum also offers a panorama of the 19th century Lendinarese in a wider sense, integrating the rooms of the Risorgimento with a section dedicated to the Marchiori family's photographic archives, whose original glass negatives, ancient prints and a collection of photographic instruments are on display. Finally, the visit closes with documentation on the Lendinarese Adolfo Rossi, journalist and diplomat who linked his name to the denunciation of the most burning social emergencies in post-unification Italy and particularly to the theme of massive emigration abroad.
Where:
Via G.B. Conti, 30
45026 Lendinara (RO)
Opening hours:
Info: tel. 0425 605665 / www.comune.lendinara.ro.it
ANCIENT MANTOVANI DISTILLERY (*) (Pincara)
"The future of memory" Enterprise Museum of the Ancient Mantovani Distillery was inaugurated in November 2004. It was built inside the company and it traces the entrepreneurial and working history of 6 generations. The project is the result of a passionate research on the history, legends and traditions related to liqueurs and spirits. On display inside the museum visitors can see objects belonging to the company itself but also exhibits acquired in the course of the research activity.
Where:
Via Matteotti, 1001
45020 Pincara (RO)
Opening hours:
Info: tel. 0425 754342 / www.distilleriemantovani.it
MUSEUM OF THE 43 MARTYRS OF VILLAMARZANA (*) (Villamarzana)
The document centre and museum in memory, collects documents relating to the tragic massacre of 43 partisans who were victims, in 1944, of the Nazi-Fascists.
Where:
Via S. Pietro Martire, 1
45030 Villamarzana (RO)
Opening hours:
Info: tel. 0425 938018 / www.comune.villamarzana.ro.it
A land full of charm, history and culture deserves to be known thoroughly and protected. For this purpose there are 28 museums in this area (www.smppolesine.it). The province of Rovigo enjoys the distinction of having two National Archaeological Museums (in Fratta Polesine and in Adria) because of the huge and important local archaeological heritage. However, there are also many small ethnographic museums that narrate of a life more recent, a life that has now disappeared or that exists only in the oral memory of the oldest inhabitants.
There are also private dwellings, churches and important public buildings that can be visited prior a telephone call to the local Tourist Information and Reception Offices (IAT).
In the places marked with (*) you can find and stamp the Passport of the Lands between Adige and Po.
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MUSEUMS
