The city walls of Cittadella are one of the few examples of a defensive system with a walkway that can still be walked along, perfectly preserved over time and still intact today. (From the official website of the municipality of Cittadella).
The walkway was recently made accessible to the visit and so we went to browse 🙂
The walkway of the city walls of Cittadella
The access to the walkway is from Porta Bassano, adjacent to the “Casa del Capitano” (where the captain of the guards lived). Here is the ticket office and also the tourist office of Cittadella.
Adjacent to the tourist office, there is the Sala Fresco, the best preserved of the whole structure. The frescoes inside this room are original and date back to the 16th century.
The walls rise to an average height of 14 meters, but in the towers placed on the lookout of the gates you can even reach 30 meters. And that’s why you can admire the city from a privileged point of view.
Above the Tower of Malta, there is a beautiful Belvedere (the tower and the Belvedere are accessible even without the walkway).
The powerful construction of the Tower of Malta, was built in 1251 by Ezzelino III da Romano, a despotic ruler of the area, as a prison for his enemies. The fortress made a sad reputation for its contemporaries because of the atrocities committed there, so much so that Dante himself mentioned it in the Divine Comedy. Currently the large rooms of the tower are home to the Archaeological Civic Museum. The museum preserves a fair collection of archaeological finds ranging from the Bronze Age to the Renaissance, found in the territory of Cittadella.
Our visit ends with a walk in the square. At the exit, going towards the car, do not fail to take a nice night photo of Porta Padova and the walls.
How to reach Cittadella
Cittadella can be reached by taking the A4 motorway with exit at Padova Ovest and following the signs for Cittadella. The visit to Cittadella can be combined with that of Castelfranco Veneto (another walled city in Veneto).
There are various parking areas. One of the largest is outside the walls, hospital area – Porta Padova.
Useful information to visit Cittadella
At the Tourist Office in Cittadella it is possible to book guided tours. It is the best way to visit it.
Telephone number: +39 049 9404485
Admission: full 5 euros, reduced 3 euros (children over 3 years, students and university students, over 65, groups of minimum 10 people), cumulative family ticket 14 euros (2 adults and 2 boys), free for children up to 3 years .
Warning: on rainy days the walkway is closed.