Introduction to the town of Montegalda
Montegalda is located about 20 kilometres from the city of Vicenza, between the Berici and Euganean hills, on the border with the province of Padua. The town is bordered by the Bacchiglione river and features seven hills, whose rocky formation is similar to that of the Berici hills.
The Montegalda area is rich in historic and artistic interest. The town is dominated by Grimani Sorlini Castle, with a military and civil history spanning over 1,000 years. At the foot of the castle is the ancient medieval parish church of Santa Giustina, built before 1000 and serving as the parish church until 1950, when it was replaced by the present Church of Santa Giustina, with an important cycle of frescoes and an altarpiece by Maganza.
The main square of Montegalda, Piazza Marconi, contains Villa Gualdo, which dates back to the first half of the 17th century. Villa Gualdo is currently the Town Hall and houses a permanent exhibition dedicated to the Vicenza writer Antonio Fogazzaro who lived in Montegalda after the mid-1800s.
The Church and Convent of San Marco are located on the hill of the same name in the direction of the hamlet of Colzé. The complex is of Gothic origin but was brought to its current splendour by Chiericati family of Vicenza in the 16th century.
Villa Fogazzaro-Roi-Colbachini is one of the most elegant residences to be found in Montegalda. The Villa, with its Italian garden, surrounded by a romantic park, dates from the second half of the 15th century and was expanded in 1846 by the architect Antonio Caregaro Negrin on behalf of the Fogazzaro family. Today, it is a private residence and houses the Veneto Bell Museum.
Villa Giarolo, Villa Scroffa Cattelan and Villa Feriani with its small Baroque church, are also fine examples of Venetian villas. These villas are located in the hamlet of Colzé.
Finally, along the Bacchiglione river, in Perarolo di Colzé, you can see the port and navigation basin whose locks are an interesting example of hydraulic engineering.
The municipality of Montegalda is part of the geographically-distributed Antonio Fogazzaro museum along with Valsolda (Como), Praglia (Padua), Velo d'Astico (Vicenza), Tonezza del Comone (Vicenza), Caldogno (Vicenza), Vicenza, Jenne and Subiaco (Rome), Bruges (Belgium) and Eichstätt (Germany).
Montegalda also contains a Fogazzaro path that starts from Villa Gualdo, home to the permanent exhibition dedicated to the writer Antonio Fogazzaro, and continues along the embankment of the Bacchiglione river to the Church of San Marco and Villa Fogazzaro-Roi-Colbachini. The pedestrian path is marked by information panels starting from Piazza Marconi, near the aedicule.
This is also the beginning of the "Fogazzaro-Roi path" which runs from Montegalda to Tonezza (Vicenza) with four stops (a total of 80 km) along country roads, embankments and trails, passing by artistic and scenic treasures in places described by the famous writer and explained on information panels.
