Arquà Petrarca the city of Petrarca

Arquà Petrarca - Arquà Petrarca is an Italian town located at the foot of Monte Piccolo and Monte Ventolone, in the Euganean Hills and is one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. The toponym of the name derives from the Latin of 'Arquatum' because once the territory belonged to the Republic of Venice, it was decided to add Petrarch to the name in honor of the poet Francesco Petrarca.

The archpriest church of Santa Maria Assunta is an ancient church made up of two joined churches, the first much smaller from 1300 of which remain in memory: the frescoed paintings, the presbytery apse of the ancient church and the altar from 1800; which was located in the hermitage monastery of Monte Rua, brought to this church to save it from the siege of Napoleon. The most important feast is that of the Holy Trinity, to which a procession is dedicated that runs throughout the city up to Monte Castello. There the Saints, the Madonna and the Crucifix are blessed, along with the wheat. The church is famous for having guarded the body of Petrarch after his death; the poet being a citizen of Arquà asked to be buried in the church of Santa Maria Assunta. After a few years, however, his body was moved out of the church, where a real monument was created. It is possible to visit the house of Francesco Petrarca and see the rooms where the poet lived; inside there are the manuscripts of the poet and some of his objects. The poet's house was renovated by the municipality and consists of two floors; the first floor was used by the poet and his family. In the first room there are frescoes dedicated to Laura, while in the other rooms there are frescoes regarding other works of the poet such as in the triumph room where Cleopatra is present. The poet chose as his room the one in which there was a small balcony from which he could admire the beauty of the Euganean Hills. Inside the house there are two pieces of furniture that the poet used in his life, namely the chair and the bookcase cabinet. On the ground floor there is a rich photographic collection of places where the poet lived and a reliquary containing the mummy of Petrarch's cat. In Arquà Petrarca there is the piano museum which exhibits a collection of 18th and 19th century pianos by famous German, English, French and Italian manufacturers. The purpose of the museum is not only the purpose of preserving specimens of historical interest but above all the purpose of reviving these objects, after an adequate restoration, since the sound of these instruments is very different from the modern ones. Traditional dishes of Arquà Petrarca are: veal tongue in red wine, radicchio with lard, liver soup, rice and bisi, jujubes in alcohol or jam, Venetian scallops, cherries and rice cakes. The country is also known for the cultivation of lavender from which creams, oils and perfumes are produced.