Along the banks to discover ancient countryside churches.
A walk along the Fiumicello and Frassine rivers, which contributed to the defense and to the artistic development of Montagnana. You will see little countryside churches, humble shrines of popular devotion.
This walk is dear to locals. Along the path which articulates through the surrounding countryside you will get to know an area which was special for the story of the walled town. Starting from the Castle of San Zeno go towards the main square (Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II), go out from gate Vicenza (Porta Vicenza). This gate was opened in 1508 to allow an easier passage to the northern area of the territory where there was the important river port which allowed to navigate towards Padua and Venice. You will get past the small church of Madonna delle Grazie, locally known as Madona de Fora. It is simple but elegant, and it stands at the end of a short tree-lined road as if it prevailed the private garden that surrounds it. This is what is left of a bigger structure, annex to an imposing convent for the Zoccolanti friars, built at the beginning of the 16th century and now lost. On the other side of the street you can walk along the Fiumicello river. This waterway was demanded by the podestà (mayor) of Padua in 1277 to perfuse the moat surrounding the town walls, and to power the mills near the castle and the pulper for growing hops. Follow it all along the road over the surrounding countryside, then go right until you find the church of Santa Maria Maddalena (built in the 14th century, then rebuilt and renewed). Behind the building you can take the riverbank of the Frassine which unravels from the Pre-Alps near Vicenza until the seaside, changing its name several times along the way almost following the characteristics of the territory it goes through. You will get to a gutter called Dozza or Dolza, where the Fiumicello is born from the Frassine. Take a moment to look around and marvel at the size of the sight around you. Go on until you get on a path in slightly descent which will lead you to the small church of the Madonna del Buon Consiglio, at Caprano. This building is the lonely keeper of the nature around it. It was built In 1611 as part of a wide and ancient courtyard of the Beccari noble family. Leaving the church behind you, take the paved way which will lead you to the neighborhood of Borgo Frassine and then back to the city center of Montagnana.
