Discover what to do in Arquà Petrarca: the jujube festival, Petrarca’s house, the Mottolone plateau. Do you want to know more? First of all…
Where is Arquà Petrarca?
The municipality of Arquà Petrarca borders north with Galzignano Terme, south and west with Baone, east with Monselice.
The Jujube Festival
The lively popular event takes place every year on the first and second Sundays of October in the main streets and squares of the medieval town.
On the occasion of the happy event, Piazza Petrarca and Piazza San Marco fill with tasting stations where you can savor liqueurs, preserves, sweets, jams, and delicious dishes based on the sweet fruit that finds ideal conditions to grow lush in the fertile and sunny Colli Euganei.
The heart of the charming stone village comes alive with colorful re-enactments with flag-wavers, dancers, drummers, and musicians in period costumes, whose spectacular performances contradict the common belief that associates the Middle Ages with a dark age.
During the fair, the main streets host artists, artisans, and workshops where ancient crafts are illustrated, such as grain milling. There will also be exhibitors of rich cured meats and cheeses, attesting to the quality of local products, as well as a great variety of seasonal fruits which, besides the appetizing jujubes, include pumpkins, pomegranates, pears, and quinces.
If you are wondering what to do in Arquà Petrarca and are looking for interesting initiatives featuring local food and wine specialties and engaging cultural events, the Jujube Festival is an opportunity to spend the autumn season in an original way in the pleasant historical-natural setting of an ancient village nestled in the Colli Euganei.
For more information about the traditional celebration, you can consult the Facebook page Festa delle Giuggiole | Arqua Petrarca and the website arquapetrarca.com.
Petrarca’s house
Located at Via Valleselle, 4, Petrarca’s house (Arezzo, July 20, 1304 – Arquà, July 19, 1374) is one of the most significant cultural landmarks of the municipality.
Illuminated by charming windows with trilobed arches, the 14th-century residence was donated to Petrarca by Francesco I da Carrara, politician, military leader, and lord of Padua.
Harmoniously set in the peaceful scenery of the Colli Euganei, the house that hosted the poet and writer in his final years is embellished with fresco paintings that pay homage to the content of some of his works.
The Mottolone Plateau
To reach the Mottolone Plateau, you can leave your car at the cemetery in Via Palazzina. Near the cemetery, in Via Fontana, there is a free parking lot where you can park for up to two hours. Next to the parking lot you will find the staircase leading to the village.
The Borgo Alto parking lot at Via Ventolone, 14, is paid and has 20 parking spaces.
Starting from Petrarca’s house, proceed downhill on Via Valleselle until you reach a fork. Keep right along the road as indicated by sign 003 (Mottolone Plateau, Villa Beatrice D’Este, Monte Fasolo) heading northwest.
The path goes into the lush rural landscape of Arquà, marked by orderly rows of vines and dotted with silvery olive trees surrounded by thick hedges of acacias, tree of heaven, poplars, and cherry trees.
The lane emerges onto Via Marlunghe. Turn right and proceed slightly uphill among vineyards, olive groves, and towering cypresses until you reach the intersection with Via Scalette.
Keep left and proceed along Via Scalette for 700 meters until you find on your left a large clearing near a big oak.
If you are wondering what to do in Arquà Petrarca, the Mottolone Plateau offers splendid views of the rural landscape of the municipality and the sinuous profile of the Colli Euganei that stand out on the horizon. The view is particularly evocative at dawn, when the morning mist envelops the gentle wooded slopes, giving them a fairy-tale, enchanted aura.
