Noventa Padovana
Welcome to Noventa Padovana, the wealthiest municipality in the province of Padua
Hello everyone! Today I want to talk to you about Noventa Padovana, a small municipality located eight kilometers east of the center of Padua, in Veneto. With its 11,513 inhabitants, Noventa is considered the wealthiest municipality in the province of Padua, even surpassing the capital city. In 2019, the average declared income was € 25,808 per inhabitant.
A charming landscape at the end of the Brenta Riviera
Noventa Padovana not only enjoys a high standard of living, but also has a beautiful landscape to offer. The municipality represents a real belt between the nearby city of Padua and the Brenta Riviera. Noventa is the last village in the Riviera, at the end of the suggestive itinerary that starts from the Venice lagoon and reaches Padua. The presence of important Venetian villas and the geographical position have greatly influenced the urban development of Noventa. The population clusters both near Camin and Ponte di Brenta, close to Padua, and towards Stra with the Oltrebrenta district.
A history dating back to the Middle Ages
The toponym "Noventa" is already present in Paduan medieval records beginning with 918. The term seems to recall the Latin "nova" or "novale", or recently cultivated land, precisely because of the reclamation carried out in the medieval era in the swampy areas of the Brenta. Initially, Noventa was a rural village subject to nearby Padua and its foundation probably dates back to the period when these lands were inhabited by the Veneti. In the 11th and 12th centuries, Noventa became an important river port in the connections with Venice, especially after the excavation of the Piovego Canal, carried out by the free municipality of Padua between 1209 and 1210, and the construction of the bridge over the canal.
A resort for wealthy members of Paduan nobility
The position of Noventa, the presence of waterways, and the fertility of the land attracted many wealthy members of the Paduan nobility. In the 14th century, the biggest landowner in Noventa was Scrovegni, a businessman and banker linked to the frescoed Scrovegni Chapel by Giotto. He had purchased the properties once belonging to the Dalesmanini, but in 1331, when he was exiled to Venice, his feud was sold to the Venetian Foscari.
Historical curiosities of the municipality
Noventa also has a curious history related to the Paduan family of Dalesmanini, who owned a castle in the municipality's territory. It was probably the residence of Isabella, wife of Emperor Frederick II of Swabia, who in 1239 enjoyed hunting trips in Noventa. In 1919, the current bridge with locks over the Piovego Canal was built, and the old single-arch bridge fell into disuse until it was demolished.
In conclusion, Noventa Padovana is a place of great charm, where landscape and history coexist in harmony. I hope this brief summary has intrigued you and made you want to visit the wealthiest municipality in the province of Padua!
