Selvazzano Dentro

Located outside of Padua, the town of Selvezzano Dentro has a long history of its own, though it is now often considered a suburb of the larger and more famous city in its shadow. The town of about 22,500 people is in a position near not just Padova, but also Vicenza, Treviso, Venice, Lake Garda, Belluno, Verona and many other interesting places. It sits on the alluvial plain of the Bacchiglione River, with districts on both banks.

With its strategic position, the Romans transformed the area with connector roads in the first and second centuries BCE. Archeological evidence shows there were inhabitants here in the Bronze Age, however. But, typically, it was the Romans who developed and named it. The name is said to have derived from "dentro la selva di Giano" (within the woods of Giano, an important deity to the Romans). Remains discovered include aqueducts, bowls, amphora, and more. Following the fall of the Roman Empire, many small towns developed in the Middle Ages as rural hamlets. A Benedictine monastery, Santa Maria di Quarta is in ruins, though part of the apse remains, an important remnant from that era. The powerful Republic of Venice took over the rural land in 1405 to serve the watery republic's needs for produce and land-based items placed under the rule of noble families as feudal lands and estates, such as the Capodilista, Contarini, Pisani, Renier, Pesaro, and others. They built, of course, lavish villas for themselves while employing farmers in a type of sharecropping system.

Today, Selvazzano Dentro is practically attached to Padova, and indeed is considered a suburb of the city. However the villas and monuments are unique and should be visited. It is also interesting to visit both sides of the river and and enjoy the local fare, the smaller-town ambiance and warmth, and easily accessible services.

The baroque Villa e Barchessa Cesarotti, and the Palladio-styled Villa Molin, and the famous Villa Emo Capodilista with ornate gardens, frescoed halls, and Renaissance charm are worth visits. Enjoy the public park and paths that wend along the bendy river.

Nearby, Albano Terme has not only hot springs (per the name, "terme") with pools and treatments, but also open-air art and the monastery of San Daniele.