From the Protohistorian settlements to the town of the Serenissima.
The livelihood of Borgo San Zeno dates back to old times when an important settlement was established here in the Bronze age. It hosted also an old cloister of Franciscans that is now lost, and it was also chosen by the Venetian noble people to build big villas.
Leaving the historical center of the walled town behind you, go east along the road which will lead you to Borgo San Zeno. The name itself carries the memory of the old bound between Montagnana and the city of Verona of which San Zeno was an important bishop and is nowadays the saint patron. The city of the Scaligeri tried to extend their political and religious domination over this territory which was always disputed with the influence of Padua. You will be walking along a stretch of the original course of the Adige river which once flew here and went to the ancient town of Este. Thanks to the river, which was essential for the inhabitants, the most consistent amount of finds of the time between the end of the Bronze Age and the early Iron Age were found here, showing the remains of important inhabited area and necropolis. Along the way, which is an important thoroughfare towards the area of Padua nowadays, you can notice some imposing buildings both on your left and right. They were built during the Venetian domination when Montagnana got the interest of the Serenissima as a place to widen its sea domination to the mainland. This is how one of the most significant changes in the territory and landscape took place: a skillful work of recovery and water canalization to make them functional for agricultural. It was also an ambitious political and econpomic project which is most highly represented by the many villas. In fact, you will see Villa Pisani, designed by Andrea Palladio, the 17th century Palazzo Giusti Sanmartini which belonged to another branch of the Pisani family, the 15th century Loggetta del Veneziano which was probably a hunting lodge attributed to the Falconetto and owned by the Pesaro family and then to the Pisanis. A bit further, on the right side of the street, there starts a cycling lane. Walk on it until you can see the church of San Zeno. It has really ancient origins, and it was rebuilt over the 16th century, renewed and expanded in the 17th and 19th centuries. It is near an old Franciscan monastery dedicated to San Giorgio that no longer exists. Going further you will get to a bifurcation where the main road continues on the left. Look left to see the elegant Ca’ Bolis Ricci, a country house built in the 15th century and refined during the 18th and 19th centuries. Get back on your bike and take the right, then turn left and follow on the streets that leads you through the countryside where you will find another imposing house which hosts a farm nowadays. It is Ca’ Negri, a villa commissioned in the 18th century by the Fornasari family, then handed over to the Negri. The main building is sided by two guesthouses and further east by the charming little church of San Giuseppe, whose sophisticated decorations let understand the splendor that the whole building must have had in the past. Go further until the end of the road, cross a very short part of regional route and get back into the green countryside around Montagnana. Look around and see how the roads cross each other creating a reticular path that reminds the old Roman centuriation which have survived to the changes of the territory over the centuries.
