Battaglia Terme
Encyclopedia
Battaglia Terme is a town and comune
in the Veneto
region of Italy
, in the province of Padua
.
Battaglia lies at the easternmost edge of the volcanic Euganean Hills
, and has been noted for its warm saline springs
and natural vapour grotto since the Middle Ages.
which commanded a central position at the confluence of several canals in the network of barge traffic that linked Este and Padua, the Adriatic, the Lagoon of Venice and the north by means of the Brenta
Canal, the canalized Bacchiglione
and the Adige
.
during the first World War.
Another dominant feature of the town is the high monumental enclosed block of the Castello del Catajo
at the edge of the town, which had its origins in a simple villa that was rebuilt and extravagantly enlarged in the manner of a feudal castle from 1570 onwards by Marchese Pio Enea I degli Obizzi, a member of a literary family well-known in Ferrara and Padua http://www.sardimpex.com/files/obizzi.htm; it contains a vast cycle of historical battle scenes frescoed in 1571–2 by Giambattista Zelotti (1525–1578) a pupil of Paolo Veronese
; he began with Roman times and culminated in 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 Castello's collections were enriched by the last of the Obizzi with coins and medals, musical instruments and paintings. The complex was inherited by Karl I
, the last Emperor of Austro-Hungary, and 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.
Nearby, the baroque Villa Emo-Capodilista dominates a steeply-terraced site with its dome rising over its central pediment http://www.gargan.it/Padova%20sud%20in%20italiano.htm.
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
in the Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
region of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, in the province of Padua
Province of Padua
The Province of Padua is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Padua.-History and territory:...
.
Battaglia lies at the easternmost edge of the volcanic Euganean Hills
Euganean Hills
The Euganean Hills are a group of hills of volcanic origin that rise to heights of 300 to 600 meters from the Padovan-Venetian plain a few kilometers south of Padua. The Colli Euganei form the first regional park established in the Veneto, enclosing fifteen towns and eighty-one hills...
, and has been noted for its warm saline springs
Hot spring
A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth.-Definitions:...
and natural vapour grotto since the Middle Ages.
History
The construction of the navigable Battaglia canal in the early 13th century brought traffic and growth to the communeMedieval commune
Medieval communes in the European Middle Ages had sworn allegiances of mutual defense among the citizens of a town or city. They took many forms, and varied widely in organization and makeup. Communes are first recorded in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, thereafter becoming a widespread...
which commanded a central position at the confluence of several canals in the network of barge traffic that linked Este and Padua, the Adriatic, the Lagoon of Venice and the north by means of the Brenta
Brenta
Brenta may refer to:* Brenta , Italy* Brenta Valley* Brenta Group* Brenta, Lombardy...
Canal, the canalized Bacchiglione
Bacchiglione
The Bacchiglione is a river that flows through northern Italy. It rises in the Alps and empties into the Gulf of Venice, on the Adriatic Sea, near Chioggia...
and the Adige
Adige
The Adige is a river with its source in the Alpine province of South Tyrol near the Italian border with Austria and Switzerland. At in length, it is the second longest river in Italy, after the River Po with ....
.
Main sights
The royal palace Selvatico was erected in the mid-17th century by Marchese Benedetto Selvatico, the owner of the mineral springs. The baronial castle features several thermal lakes and has been the royal residence of the Italian King Umberto II.Umberto II of Italy
Umberto II, occasionally anglicized as Humbert II was the last King of Italy for slightly over a month, from 9 May 1946 to 12 June 1946. He was nicknamed the King of May -Biography:...
during the first World War.
Another dominant feature of the town is the high monumental enclosed block of the Castello del Catajo
Castello del Catajo
Castello del Catajo is a patrician house near the town of Battaglia Terme, province of Padua, Italy.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 Marchese Pio Enea I degli Obizzi, a member of an important...
at the edge of the town, which had its origins in a simple villa that was rebuilt and extravagantly enlarged in the manner of a feudal castle from 1570 onwards by Marchese Pio Enea I degli Obizzi, a member of a literary family well-known in Ferrara and Padua http://www.sardimpex.com/files/obizzi.htm; it contains a vast cycle of historical battle scenes frescoed in 1571–2 by Giambattista Zelotti (1525–1578) a pupil of Paolo Veronese
Paolo Veronese
Paolo Veronese was an Italian painter of the Renaissance in Venice, famous for paintings such as The Wedding at Cana and The Feast in the House of Levi...
; he began with Roman times and culminated in 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 Castello's collections were enriched by the last of the Obizzi with coins and medals, musical instruments and paintings. The complex was inherited by Karl I
Karl I of Austria
Charles I of Austria or Charles IV of Hungary was the last ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was the last Emperor of Austria, the last King of Hungary, the last King of Bohemia and Croatia and the last King of Galicia and Lodomeria and the last monarch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine...
, the last Emperor of Austro-Hungary, and 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.
Nearby, the baroque Villa Emo-Capodilista dominates a steeply-terraced site with its dome rising over its central pediment http://www.gargan.it/Padova%20sud%20in%20italiano.htm.