Montecchio Maggiore - Montecchio Maggiore

Montecchio Maggiore
Montecchio Maggiore - The so-called castles of Juliet and Romeo
StateItaly
RegionVeneto
TerritoryVenetian plain
Altitude72 m a.s.l.
Surface30.54 km²
Inhabitants23.743 (year 2010)
Name inhabitantsMontecchiani
Prefix tel 39 0444
POSTAL CODE36075
Time zone UTC 1
PatronSan Vitale (February 2)
Position
Map of Italy
Reddot.svg
Montecchio Maggiore
Institutional website

Montecchio Maggiore is a city of Veneto.

To know

Geographical notes

Montecchio is located in the confluence of the Chiampo and Agno valleys. In the Castellano municipality, the Agno stream changes its name to Guà into which the Poscola stream flows. The morphology of the land is mainly flat, although a hilly area develops to the north-east, dominated by the two castles of Bellaguardia and Villa, also known as Castles of Romeo and Juliet, from the hilly area of ​​the hamlets of Santissima Trinità and Sant'Urbano and from the locality of Bernuffi, from the hilly area of ​​Selva di Alte Ceccato. It is 12 km from Vicenza, 14 from Lonigo, 22 from Soave, 32 from Schio.

How to orient yourself

Neighborhoods

Its municipal territory also includes the inhabited centers of Alte Ceccato, Santissima Trinità, Sant'Urbano and Valdimolino.

How to get

By plane

Italian traffic signs - bianco direction.svg

By car

  • A4 motorway It has its own motorway exit - Montecchio Maggiore - on the A4 motorway Serenissima.


How to get around


What see

  • 1 Cathedral of Santa Maria and San Vitale. It was the archpriest Don Antonio Simionato who wanted the construction of a new, larger church to replace the by now insufficient and deteriorated ancient Pieve, which had been founded before the year 1000. The political-military events of 1848-1849 forced the postponement of construction until in 1863 the Vicenza engineer Eugenio Volebele was entrusted with the task of designing the new temple. The style chosen by Volebele for the church is neo-Gothic, an architectural form that was gaining ground in the mid-nineteenth century, but which represents an exception in the panorama of Vicentine ecclesial architecture, dominated by the neo-Palladian style.
From the summer of 1883, Eng. Giovanni Zambler, who made substantial changes to the initial project, which included the suppression of some windows and the opening of other mullioned windows in the upper part of the nave. The church was inaugurated in 1892; in memory of the event a plaque was posted on a wall of the sacristy.
The temple was built entirely with stones extracted from the quarries of the hills overlooking the city, a fact that binds the architecture to its landscape in an inseparable way. Inside the church there are altars and paintings from the old demolished parish church, including an eighteenth-century altarpiece by the Vicentine painter Giovanni Antonio De Pieri, a fifteenth-century stone triptych. In addition to minor nineteenth-century works, contemporary works include a Via crucis and a large crucifix painted in the fourteenth-century style.
The bell tower, which rises to the left of the church, is of more recent construction than the cathedral. With the construction of the church a small bell tower was erected that did not exceed 10 meters in height which was demolished in 1955 to make way for the existing soaring bell tower, which rises to a total height of 72 meters. 
Villa Cordellina Lombardi
  • 2 Villa Cordellina (Villa Cardellina Lombardi), Via Lovara. Erected by the will of the Venetian jurist Carlo Cordellina Molin (like Palazzo Cordellina in Vicenza), the villa was designed by the Venetian architect Giorgio Massari, who was openly inspired by Palladian modules. The construction works lasted from 1735 to 1742, the year in which Massari prepared the project for the barchesse, completed around 1760. The architect Francesco Muttoni also collaborated on the project.
The complex consists of the manor house, the barns, the turrets and the grandiose rustic. In the villa, Massari pays homage to the art of Andrea Palladio with the Ionic pronaos with four columns (tetrastyle), surmounted by the tympanum with the sculpted emblem of the Cordellina (three hearts with linen flowers) and with the symmetrical arrangement of the rooms and two stairs next to the central hall.
In 1743 Giambattista Tiepolo was present at the works contributing to the decoration of the main hall of the villa with a cycle of frescoes inspired by the splendor of Scipio the African and Alexander the Great. This is testified by a letter that the painter sent to his friend Algarotti in which he narrates the progress of his work.
The villa remained the property of the Cordellina family until the first decades of the nineteenth century. After being used also as a home for silkworm breeding and as a boarding school, in 1943 the complex passed to Count Gaetano Marzotto and in 1954 to Vittorio Lombardi, who promoted an impressive restoration of the residence and the annexed gardens. In 1966 the widow Lombardi ceded the ownership of the complex to the Province of Vicenza, the current owner. Thanks to the incessant recovery and restoration work begun after the war, the site was finally brought back to its former glory in recent years, with the renovation of the buildings and the rearrangement of the gardens.
The villa is currently used as the representative office of the Province of Vicenza, which has continued the restoration work by intervening on the frescoes by Tiepolo. The complex is used for conferences, concerts and cultural activities. 
  • 3 Villa Gualda, via della Gualda 21. Erected in the early 1500s by Stefano Gualdo, almost certainly assisted by the architect Sanmicheli, in the countryside between Montecchio and Montebello Vicentino. The Emperor Charles V of Habsburg was hosted in this villa in 1532. In the 19th century, the ownership of the villa passed to Angelo Fogazzaro, brother of Antonio Fogazzaro, who entrusted the architect Bartolomeo Malacarne with important additions such as the arcades, the barchesse and the church. In the 1900s the villa was bought by Carlo Veronese (1879-1970) who renovated it, leaving it as an inheritance to his grandchildren who currently live there following the activity of the wine and cereal company. 
The so-called Castles of Juliet and Romeo
  • Castles of Juliet and Romeo. On the first hills overlooking Montecchio two castles rise: the Bellaguardia Castle and the Castle of the Villa, which popular tradition unites by calling them The castles of Romeo and Juliet, a legend born in the nineteenth century. The two famous Shakespearean characters originate from Italian legends and literary works, including the short story by Luigi Da Porto, a man of arms and man of letters from Vicenza (1485-1529), who wrote it in this area, that is, in his home in Montorso. Vicentino. Here is the two manors Gemini they lent themselves to become the abodes of the two unfortunate lovers in the nineteenth-century romantic imagination. 
    • 4 Bellaguardia Castle (Cost Castle; Juliet's Castle). It is located on the top of the hill at 254 meters above sea level, has an elongated, almost rectangular plan but with a recess on the long side facing north-west, where the entrance is located, in a position that makes defense easier: such door, now equipped with a modern iron gate, was originally closed by the typical rake shutter, which descended vertically, and by a swing door. The perimeter walls are built by sequential bands of stone masonry cemented with lime, separated from each other, horizontally, by parallel courses of bricks. Blocks of square stone form the corner edges of the walls. The age-old state of decay, added to the destruction of the early sixteenth century, has meant that structures of certain existence such as battlements, patrol paths, corbels, or others whose existence is highly probable, such as minor towers placed at the top of the walls themselves, have not come down to us. Inside the walls, to protect the entrance, stands the beautiful main tower (the keep) in bricks, about 20 meters high, placed on a square base with a pyramidal trunk built in blocks of worked stone. In the central point of the courtyard there is a well-cistern which was to collect rainwater through an impluvium system, which was then naturally filtered by the gravel deposited in the well itself. As with the other castle, some buildings leaning against the internal walls must have originally existed. 
    • 5 Castle of the Villa (Romeo's Castle). It is located at 234 meters above sea level, about three hundred meters away from the other fortress. It has an articulated and somewhat irregular plan, due to the necessary adaptation to the natural conformation of the land, close to the rocky overhang. The entrance, located on the south side, was well protected by the corner tower, protruding from the walls, equipped with corbels and machicolations at its top, still visible today. The keep, similar to that of the other castle, is located at the north-west summit, with one side inserted as a segment of the perimeter wall of the north side: its entrance placed a few meters higher than the level of the ground below, so as for the keep of the Bellaguardia, it suggests the no longer detectable presence of some structures that were supposed to lean on the tower and the perimeter walls inside the castle. Now the keep is accessed via a flight of steps built during the restoration works. 
  • 6 Giuseppe Zannato Museum of Archeology and Natural Sciences, Villa Lorenzoni, Piazza Marconi, 17, ☎ 39 0444 492565, fax: 39 0444 496109, @. Ecb copyright.svg1,00 €. Simple icon time.svgFri 9.00 / 12.30 - Sat-Sun 9.00 / 12.30-15.00 / 18.30. Located in the Villa Lorenzoni, a neoclassical style building purchased by the Municipality of Montecchio in the 1950s, it has sections dedicated to archaeological, paleontological (deriving from the fossiliferous deposits of S. Trinità), mineralogical and ornithological finds, as well as some relics from the Risorgimento. It favors the display of local finds, in consideration of its intent to disseminate the characteristics of the territory. The collections are distributed in 12 exhibition rooms divided into two sections: one archaeological (on the main floor) and one naturalistic (in the basement). 
  • 7 Lowara SpA offices, Via Vittorio Lombardi, ☎ 39 0444 707111. For those interested in modern industrial architecture, the offices of Lovara s.p.a. they are an excellent example on the subject: they are in fact the work of the famous architect Renzo Piano; the office space is spread over an area of ​​over 4000 square meters. of which 2600 sqm. Covered, exploited with an “open space” concept. The whole structure is an important example of modern architecture that interacts with the most advanced technology. 

Natural areas

The most important natural areas are present in the hilly area with various excursion itineraries: the area of ​​the castles, the hamlets of Samtissima Trinità, Sant'Urbano, Valdimolino and locality Bernuffi. Also worth mentioning are the Spurghe di Sant'Urbano for the chasms and environmental characteristics.

  • 8 Le Priare, Via Castelli 4 Martiri, 721. Ecb copyright.svgEuro 5.00 whole. Simple icon time.svgSundays and holidays 2.30pm / 5.30pm.. The Priare (from the dialect pria: stone) of Montecchio Maggiore (not to be confused with the Priare of the hamlet of Sant'Urbano) are an articulated set of underground quarries, located on the top of the hilly ridge of Montecchio, just below the castle of the Bellaguardia. From these quarries, now no longer used, Vicenza stone was extracted since Roman times. Inside there is a constant temperature and in the deepest part flows a source of water. From 14 December 2008 guided tours are available every afternoon on Sundays and public holidays. 


Events and parties

  • Operaestate Festival Veneto. The tourist enhancement path of the castles has among its most important manifestations the summer festival, inside the Castle of the Villa, of films, ballets and theatrical performances included in the program of Operaestate Festival Veneto, which takes place in July and August . 
  • Medieval Montecchio (the Feud). Simple icon time.svgMay 1st. However, the event that sees the castles as great protagonists for a few days of the year, is the historical re-enactment of the life of a fifteenth-century medieval village, which takes place every 1st May right on the top of the hill of the Scaliger fortresses: a party that sees the protagonists dressed in the typical medieval costumes, in which, along the road that connects the two castles, a typical market of the time is reconstructed, with artisan shops, taverns and vendors, with performances by armed guards, archers, jugglers and fire-breathing. All seasoned with the reference to the tragic literary story of Romeo and Juliet, which for a long time has been linked to the image of the castles of Montecchio.
In fact, on May 1st of each year, the entire municipality plunges into a medieval atmosphere to relive the historic challenge between the Montecchi and Capulet families and to savor the taste and colors of the late 15th century. The final prize for those who win more tests is the palio, a cloth painted by the well-known and appreciated painter Felice Cosentino, which will be kept by the winning team until the following edition.
The climax of the historical re-enactment is reached with the election of Romeo and Juliet, chosen from among "bold young and kind girls" who are candidates to play the role of the two lovers. The chosen ones, voted by the public present, represent the city of Montecchio Maggiore for one year in major events in which an official delegation of the municipality is required or in which the Giulietta and Romeo Cultural Historical Group, organizer of the event, participates.
The appointment of May 1st is among the most popular events at national level, in the field of historical re-enactment: in the area between the two fortresses, made entirely pedestrian, between 15 and 20 thousand people meet.
The event, whose first edition was in 2000, changed its original name "Faida" into "Montecchio Medievale", starting from 2006. 


What to do


Shopping


How to have fun


Where to eat

Moderate prices

  • 1 Mc Donald's, Via Dante Alighieri 2. 

Average prices

  • 2 Pizzeria I Capuleti, Via IV Novembre 9, ☎ 39 0444 490009. 
  • 3 Bar Trattoria Roxy, Via Tecchio 105, ☎ 39 0444 699559. Fixed menu - traditional home-made dishes - pizza 
  • 4 The Castles of Romeo and Juliet restaurant, Via Castelli IV Martiri 4, ☎ 39 0444 696172. 
  • 5 Trattoria Valle, Via Buonconsiglio 34, ☎ 39 0444 696766. 
  • 6 Trattoria Girobanco, Via Bivio San Vitale 16, ☎ 39 0444 1570708. 
  • 7 Bar Pizzeria Da Giacomo, Piazza S.S. Trinity, 3 -, ☎ 39 0444 696203. 
  • 8 Pizzeria Trattoria Gabana, Via Lovara 2, ☎ 39 0444 1770477. 
  • 9 Luna Bar Restaurant, Viale Europa 1, ☎ 39 0444 492146. 
  • 10 Oasis of Pizza, Viale Vittoria 36, ☎ 39 0444 496971. 


Where stay

Moderate prices

Average prices

High prices


Safety

Italian traffic signs - pharmacy icon.svgPharmacies


How to keep in touch

Post office

  • 8 Italian post, Via Duomo 6, ☎ 39 0444 703011, fax: 39 0444 602547. 


Around

  • Vicenza
  • Lonigo - Boasts two villas Pisani: one designed by Palladio has been on the list since 1996 UNESCO World Heritage Sites together with the other Palladian villas of the Veneto; the other is also known as Rocca Pisana and it is from Scamozzi.
  • Soave - Walled city with the castle high on the hill behind it. It is also famous for its renowned wine of the same name.

Itineraries


Other projects

  • Collaborate on WikipediaWikipedia contains an entry concerning Montecchio Maggiore
  • Collaborate on CommonsCommons contains images or other files on Montecchio Maggiore
2-4 star.svgUsable : the article respects the characteristics of a draft but in addition it contains enough information to allow a short visit to the city. Use i correctly listing (the right type in the right sections).