Ancient river village of Badia Polesine

❝From trade to wetland transformation projects, the river village of Badia Polesine long rested at the centre of water politics. This settlement on the banks of the Adige has ancient origins, linked to the Benedictine abbey around which the original urban centre developed. Built in the Middle Ages, the village was surrounded by moats and equipped with three drawbridges to control arrivals and departures. The Benedictine’s land reclamation projects stimulated a flourishing agricultural economy, in part because proximity to navigable waterways made new trading possible.❞

The village of Badia Polesine, located on the right bank of the Adige river, owes its name to the Abbey of Vangadizza, an important Benedictine monastery founded before the year 1000 in the locality of the same name, and suppressed in 1810 during the French domination. The religious complex had enjoyed, since its establishment, the privilege of "nullius diocesis": that is, it constituted its own diocese, thus being autonomous and independent from the control of the bishop of Adria. It included a large territory that extended between the current provinces of Padua, Verona, Ferrara and Bologna. This extended area of influence made it one of the most important medieval abbeys of the Po-Veneto geographical context. The town of Badia Polesine passed from the domination of the Estensi to that of the Padovans over the centuries, it was then annexed by the Republic of Venice, following its ups and downs until 1797, the year of the fall of the Serenissima. After the occupation of the French and Austrians, in 1866 Badia became part of the Italian State.
The history of the settlement closely follows that of the monastery, around which the original urban layout developed. Of fundamental importance for the economic development of Badia Polesine was its proximity to the Adige river, which in the past represented a strategic communication route to Verona and to the sea.
The village, which represents the oldest part of Badia Polesine, was protected by a moat and three wooden drawbridges, according to some sources as early as the 13^th century. It was rebuilt in stone in 1514 with the corresponding gates, which were used to regulate access to the settlement. The "Porta de Soto" (lower gate) connected the urban heart with the Contrada San Francesco, which today is Via Roma, also called "Cao de Vila" where, in the first half of the 15^th century, the Franciscan monks built a small church and a neighbouring convent. The “Porta de Mezo” (middle gate) led to the road to Francavilla, on the right bank of the Adigetto. From the "Porta de Sora" (upper gate) it was possible to access the Pizzòn, or Borgo San Nicolò. This ancient district of the city had particular characteristics precisely because it stood close to the river. There was a site for boat building, a small church dedicated to Saint Nicholas, patron saint of sailors, the river docks and an inn with accommodation that housed foreigners and travellers. This area was also inhabited by the so-called "mulinari", who operated in the characteristic (and unfortunately no longer present) floating mills on the Adige. Life inside the village unfortunately suffered a drastic upheaval on 23^rd April 1945, when massive bombing destroyed houses, shops and the church of San Nicolò, in addition to the bridge over the Adige.