Monte Venda
The Monte Venda is 601 m, the highest elevation of the Euganean hills in the Veneto province of Padua. It is located in the Natural Park of the hill in the area of the four municipalities Galzignano Terme, Teolo, Vò and Cinto Euganeo.
Geology and landscape
At the foot of Monte Venda are argillaceous sedimentary rocks, which are attributable to an age of about 40 to 45 million years to the Eocene. The conical hill itself, like all surveys of this area of volcanic origin and is composed of trachyte.
Are within the unspoiled natural landscape on the slopes of Monte Venda, due to different microclimate to identify several vegetation zones. While prevail on the dry sunny south side of oak, ash, hornbeam and scrub bushes, the wetter north side is dominated by extensive chestnut forests; some of them with bizarre strains are centuries old and are called maronari. In the wetter winter months, there is also a small lake, stood by black poplar and bog birch.
Infrastructure
At the summit there are military installations from the 1950s that are no longer in use since 1998. It was NATO's first station ROC ( = Regional Operations Centre ), a system of underground bunkers and galleries where exercises with up to 500 men were held. In September 2005, the Italian Left Democrats focused addressed to four ministries Parliamentary inquiry with the aim of dismantling the contaminated with asbestos plants as well as the elucidation of putative related to this contamination 20 deaths and health Other interested parties to obtain. The responses of 2006, thereabout to take care with the necessary intensity, have not yet done so far ( as of 2009) to the required disassembly.
At the same time, the Monte Venda location of the highest with 100 m RAI transmission tower in the region, the comprehensive range has a very Veneto and parts of Friuli, Trentino and the provinces of Brescia, Mantua and Ferrara, the transmitter Monte Venda.
A second, 60 m high radio tower was built in 2004 by order of the Italian Air Force, despite protests from the residents of the municipality Teolo as usable for military radio transmitter bridge.
The access road from Castelnuovo to the transmission facilities is closed to the public.
The rise walk starts at the car park for hikers Casa Marina ( Information Center of the Regional Park management) or the Restaurant del Re Venda (former Hofgut to 1500) in Sottovenda. From there, two applied by the Regional Park Authority circular walks in the protected landscape at Monte Venda. The shorter wide, partially designated as disabled, leads to 5 km (2 hours) on the flank of the mountain pass, the longer named after a Padaner astronomer of the 19th century sentiero GC Lorenzoni (7 km, 4-5 hrs ) is difficult, partly steep and exposed sections goes once around the whole mountain.
Former Benedictine Monastero degli Olivetani
Just below the summit - only accessible on foot detour from sentiero del Monte Venda GC Lorenzoni - the ruins of a core around 1100 by a hermit named Adam built hermitage, which was acquired in 1207 by Benedictine Abbey of Santa Giustina of Padua and turned into a major monastery. At the same time, a John the Baptist was built church dedicated.
By 1300, the Bishop of Padua transferred the monastery to Olivetans under the protection of the Po valley noble family Carraresi. In your possession the further enlarged Abbey remained until 1771, when the Venetian Republic, they gave up prematurely before the Napoleonic conquest and secularization of all the monasteries of the region. Then fell the facility until the Regional Park Authority adopted its restoration and connection to the trail system of the park in attack.
The remote ruins of the abbey church and enclosure building are also a vantage point overlooking the Monte Rua with his Camaldolese hermitage and a wide panorama in the Po Valley.