| HISTORY OF CITTADELLA |
Since then, the most typical peculiarities of the town have been the exceptional circle of walls and its strategic position within the Paduan territory.
Since the Bronze Age there has been evidence of human beings living in the place where Cittadella was built. In Roman times the fields nearby were divided into regular squares and given to retired Roman soldiers (agro centuriato) whereas in 148 BC Via Postumia was built as maximum decumano.
Starting from the XI century, a number of rural dominions were created together with a series of tiny villages that were built around their parish churches like St. Donato or around abbeys like St. Lucia of Brenta.
During the Middle Ages, immediately after its foundation, Cittadella became for the Commune of Padua a reliable base from which they could oppose the local rural Lords' power, such as the feudal aristocracy of Onara and Fontaniva.
For a short period Cittadella was ruled by Ezzelino da Romano, and in the second part of the XIII century it had greatly developed and had a strategic role towards the surrounding territory. In 1236, Padua granted Cittadella the right to have its own statutes.
In 1318, Cittadella was annexed to the dominion of Cangrande della Scala. Then it returned to Padua 's dominion, and the city was ruled by the Da Carrara lords. During the XIV century Cittadella's role increased and the Podesteria (tenue of a Podestà) enlarged.
In 1405, Cittadella asked to be part of Venice , having in exchange the right to keep its own statute.
From 1483 Venice handed it over to Roberto Sanseverino; his successors kept it until 1499, while for one year, from 1503 to 1504, it was handed over to Pandolfo Malatesta, following the sworn treaty between Pandolfo and the Venetian Republic.
In 1508 the Cambrai league was created against Venice . Malatesta, the lord of Cittadella took sides with the enemy. For this reason the town was attacked and sacked by the imperial troops. The peace with Venice was only restored in 1516.
After these violent happenings, Cittadella knew three centuries of peace, interrupted in 1797, when Napoleon's troops took possession of the whole territory belonging to the Venetian Republic . Cittadella became then part of the Bacchiglione department, and for some time even of the province of Vicenza . From 1814, Cittadella suffered also of the Austrian occupation, which ended in 1866, the year when it was finally annexed to the Kingdom of Italy.
"Edited by Laura Pavan, librarian of the Cittadella public library"
W: 1.7 m/s (S)
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