Castello del Catajo is a patrician rural palace near the town of Battaglia Terme, province of Padua, north-eastern Italy built in 1573.
It had its origins in a simple villa that was rebuilt and extravagantly enlarged in the manner of a feudal castle from 1570 onwards by Marquess Pio Enea I degli Obizzi, a member of an Italian noble family of French origin. The house contains a vast cycle of historical battle scenes frescoed in 1571–1572 by Giambattista Zelotti, a pupil of Paolo Veronese. He began with events from the Roman age, culminating with the military triumphs of Pio Enea degli Obizzi, which were recreated in the gardens with tourneys and spectacles. His nephew Pio Enea II enlarged the complex with the grand entrance courtyard, announced by sculptures on high drum pedestals, which is dominated by the Baroque "Elephant" fountain.

In the 19th century the estate passed to Francis V, Duke of Modena, who in turn left it to the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. During the First World War the castle was inherited by Charles I of Austria, the last Emperor of Austria-Hungary, but it was sequestered as war reparations by the Italian State, which sold it in 1926 to the Dalla Francesca family, who currently open it to the public.

Castello del Catajo

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At the foot of the Colle della Rocca there rises an imposing architectural complex called Castello Cini, which incorporates several diverse types of building. From the XI to the XVI centuries the castle has changed from a luxurious residence, to defensive tower to become a Venetian villa.

The Castle is made up, in fact, of four main nucleuses: the most ancient part is the Roman house (Casa Romanica, 11th century) which together with the Castelletto (12th cent.) form the first dwelling area.
During the course of the 13th century the Torre Ezzeliniana, an imposing defensive building ordered by Ezzelino III da Romano, was built detached from the main structure. Its inside is characterized by monumental "tower" fireplaces, unique in Italy for their form and functionality, ordered by the Paduan Lords of Da Carrara in the 14th century.
In 1405, after the birth of the Serenissima Republic of Venice, the complex in Monselice was acquired by the aristocratic Venetian family Marcello, who undertook the construction of Ca' Marcello, a connecting building between the pre-existing structures. The Marcello family then enlarged the central rooms of the Torre Ezzeliniana to form a summer residence, used uninterruptedly until the beginning of the 19th century.

The Venetian nobles gentrified the complex by constructing the elegant Library (16th cent.) on the esplanade in front of the Tower; by restructuring the Venetian Courtyard (17th cent.) and adding the private family chapel during the 1700s.

The fall of the Republic of Venice, at the end of the Eighteenth century, marked the slow but progressive decline of the old Monselice castle. The ownership of the Castle passes to various local families, among them the Girardi-Cini, but this does not enhance the fortune of the complex. The final blow was given by the Italian Royal Armed Forces, which during WWI used the Castle for military purposes, abandoning it in 1919 thoroughly sacked of all of its treasures.
In 1935 the estate was inherited by the Earl Vittorio Cini, a man of great intellectual refinement. He undertook an accurate research of the furnishings (furniture, paintings, rugs, tapestries, ceramics, musical instruments and cloth materials) and weapons, recreating on the interior of the castle the medieval and renaissance atmosphere that even today welcomes visitors into residential areas and in the vast Armoury.
Since 1981 ownership of the monumental complex of the Cini Castle of Monselice has passed to the Veneto Regional Authority, becoming a regional museum jointly with the Antiquarium Longobardo and the Mastio Federciano.

http://www.padovamedievale.it

The Castle of Monselice

Il Castelvecchio, anticamente definito Castello della Torlonga ma oggi conosciuto anche come Castello di Ezzelino, o Castello Carrarese o ancora Castello di Padova, è una fortificazione di origine altomedievale posta sulla biforcazione del Bacchiglione dove si divide in Tronco Maestro e Naviglio interno. Deve le attuali caratteristiche alla signoria dei Da Carrara. Durante il XIX secolo e il XX secolo venne in gran parte utilizzato come prigione statale mentre il mastio, la Torlonga, fu dal XVIII secolo Specola cittadina.
Toponimo
La fortezza un tempo era chiamata Castello della Torlonga. Assunse il nome di Castelvecchio quando si iniziò a costruire il Castelnuovo dopo il 1513. In età romantica fu chiamato Castello di Ezzelino per il fascino sinistro evocato dal tiranno. Oggi, con la riscoperta culturale della signoria dei Da Carrara, è frequentemente definito Castello Carrarese. L'area antistante l'edificio è Piazza Castello: in età veneziana fu luogo di esercitazioni militari e di esecuzioni capitali.
a struttura del castello attuale è l'evoluzione di un sistema difensivo di origine altomedievale che aveva nella Torlonga (la torre-longa) il suo fulcro: costruita nel IX secolo nella strategica area in cui il Bacchiglione andava dividendosi (punto già occupato da fortificazioni di età romana) fu citata per la prima volta nel 1062. La torre, tra il X secolo ed il XI secolo, fu circondata da una breve muraglia che la proteggeva verso la città. Questo mastio fu poi inglobato alla cinta muraria di età comunale; lì vicino, verso ponente, si aprì una porta urbica.

Il castello di Ezzelino
Rimangono invece tracce del castello fatto costruire da Ezzelino III da Romano, tiranno della città dal 1237 al 1256: la più notevole è la Torlonga, la maggiore delle due torri del castello. Il Castello fungeva da perno difensivo della cinta muraria duecentesca.

Il Castello di Francesco il Vecchio
Caduto il tiranno, le fortificazioni furono abbandonate fino alla signoria dei Carraresi che fecero ricostruire il castello facendone dipingere le due torri a scacchi bianchi e rossi. Il Castello venne collegato alla Reggia Carrarese dal traghetto alle mura, un passaggio sopraelevato che aveva la funzione di collegare i centri del potere politico e militare.

L'età veneziana
Con la costruzione delle mura rinascimentali ad opera di Bartolomeo d'Alviano il valore strategico del castello fu ridotto a zero. La Repubblica di Venezia vagheggiò anche la costruzione di un Castelnovo sul versante est delle mura, ma di questo progetto rimangono solo alcuni bastioni. Nel 1777 fu ultimata la trasformazione della Torlonga in Specola per le osservazioni astronomiche.

L'Ottocento e la prigione
I resti del castello ebbero successivamente usi diversi (osservatorio astronomico, prigione, ecc.). In particolare il castello ha avuto funzione di prigione fino al secondo dopoguerra. L'Amministrazione carceraria padovana ha tuttora alcuni uffici in Piazza Castello.

Castelvecchio (Padova)

The Castle of San Martino della Vaneza is located along the bank of the Bacchiglione river that since ancient times has first represented an important strategic military defence, then a well-known reference to commercial traffic.

Around the year one thousand, the first defence system was established by the characteristic high tower over twenty meters. In 1324 , the Carrara family became the owners of the Castle of San Martino implementing major restructuring that involved the enclosure of the trachyte stone (10 meters high) and the tower, making it more sophisticated by means of a series of protuding brick crenellation.

Arranged on over six floors, we can still find the hallmarks of a structure designed for military defence, as the tall, narrow slots, on the ground floor of the fence.

1405 was the year in which the Venetians turned the castle into a veritable shopping centre developing a functional and thriving river port. The main activity consisted in sorting the semi-finished wood from nearby forests, necessary to the Venetian shipyards. It also witnessed the birth of small villages where you looked out of the first taverns carried out their business functions both within the castle and in its immediate vicinity.

In 1439 also the Vendramin family made its contribution, after having acquired ownership of the castle he built the first mill vessel, operated until 1800, when the last heir of the family sold it to the Filippini di Padova.

From 1930 to 1978, the owners of the castle were the Antonini Papavafa dei Carraresi. From 1979 until today, it belongs to the province of Padua who, thanks to an important process of enhancement and recovery of ancient artefacts, enabled, in 1995, the opening of the Museum of Archaeology of the Bacchiglione river. Visitors will learn about the fascinating history of the peoples who inhabited the floodplain, fully enjoying the spectacle of the nature surrounding it.

https://www.euganeanhills.com

Castle of San Martino of Vaneza

The undisputed symbol of Montegalda is the ancient castle which dominates the entire plain, one lucky survivor of the three manors, two of which stood in Montegaldella and Cervarese S. Croce. The building changed over the years and in the 18th century it was transformed from a military facility into a Venetian villa. Its foundation dates back probably to 1176 but in the courtyard a foundation of the Roman period was found, which anticipates that construction. The castle is undoubtedly impressive, marked by three towers, a keep and the crenellated ring-shaped walls of the Guelph form, which would host the famous 'trabocchetto' (trap door) to thwart the invaders. After the tyrant Ezzelino da Romano in 1300, the domain of the castle passed to the dominion of the Scala family of Verona and later, in 18th century it was transformed into a Venetian villa. The castle of Montegalda now seems to have regained its former glory thanks to a meticulous restoration, reflecting the still incredible charm and mystery.

https://www.spottinghistory.com