Veneto · Padova
Arquà Petrarca
The Euganean Hills village where Francesco Petrarca spent his last four years and died in 1374, renamed in his honor in 1868.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Arquà Petrarca is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia, Bandiera Arancione and Città del Vino.
Subscribe and you get Arquà Petrarca's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 28 min from Padua
- Population
- 1,779
- J8°
- F12°
- M15°
- A18°
- M23°
- J28°
- J30°
- A30°
- S25°
- O20°
- N13°
- D8°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Arquà sits between Monte Ventolone and Monte Castello, in the Euganean Hills south of Padova. The name dates to medieval records; the suffix Petrarca was added in 1868, after the Veneto's annexation to the Kingdom of Italy, as a public homage to the poet who chose to die here. Francesco Petrarca arrived in 1370 and lived in a thirteenth-century house he renovated himself across two stories, the Casa del Petrarca, now a museum with frescoes from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
He died at his desk on the night of 18-19 July 1374. His tomb, an ark in red Verona marble inspired by Roman sarcophagi, was placed in the churchyard of Santa Maria Assunta in 1380 and reset in 1965. The village kept its medieval layout: two piazzas linked by a stepped path, the Casa above and the church and tomb below. The hills around it grow Colli Euganei DOC wine, olives, and the giuggiole that go into the local liqueur Brodo di Giuggiole.
How to get there
From Treviso (TSF), about 1 h 4 min by car.
Bologna (BLQ) is about 1 h 10 min away.
By car from the center of Padua 28 min.
Coming from Venice, Bologna or Verona?
Coming by train into Padova? Arquà Petrarca is about 31 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Treviso airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Casa di Francesco Petrarca
The poet's thirteenth-century house, renovated by him on two floors and now a museum with frescoes added by later owners in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
Tomba di Petrarca
Sarcophagus in red Verona marble in the churchyard of Santa Maria Assunta, placed in 1380, six years after the poet's death.
Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta
Parish church first documented in 1026, enlarged through the centuries, with frescoes of the Venetian-Byzantine school up to the fifteenth century.
Piazza Roma e Piazza San Marco
The two squares of the medieval borgo, the upper one near the Casa, the lower around the church and tomb, linked by stone steps.
Colli Euganei
Volcanic hills around the village, a regional park with walking trails between Monte Castello, Monte Piccolo and Monte Ventolone.
Living here
Could you live here?
Arquà Petrarca is a village with a town close by.
- A village of 1,779, with Monselice (17,075 people) 9 min away for the shopping and a meal out. Our rule is a town within 15 minutes.
- Padova, a city of 207,412, is 28 min by car. Closer than our 30 to 60 minutes: handy for everything, so check the town still keeps a life of its own.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 1,779, down 4.4% since 2015
- Nearest city Padua, 28 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Monselice, 5 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,100 to €1,500 per m² to buy, €4.20 to €6.00 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 91% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Venice Marco Polo airport (VCE), 56 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Venice, 50 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
2% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Morocco, the United Kingdom and Romania, against 9% across Italy. 11 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United Kingdom. There are 266 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 26% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Padua province ranks 9th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Monselice, 5 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Padua, 20 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Padua, 20 km away. The nearest IB school is The English International School of Padua, 20 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds between 0.65% and 0.74% to your income tax, depending on your income, with nothing due on income under €10,000. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Veneto spends about €2,310 a month, €560 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €490 a year for water, on the Veneto average. In Padua, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.40, a meal in a pizzeria €14.42 and a man's haircut €22.95.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. They show no residents in a high landslide zone.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
This is a thermal town: terme operate here.
Known for
PETRARCA
Francesco Petrarca lived his last four years here, died at his desk in 1374, and is buried in the churchyard below his house.
GIUGGIOLE
Jujube fruit grown on the village slopes; the Brodo di Giuggiole liqueur and the October Festa delle Giuggiole built around it.
MEDIEVAL LAYOUT
Two piazzas on different levels, the Casa above and the church and tomb below, intact since the fourteenth century.
Common questions
- What is Arquà Petrarca known for?
- Arquà Petrarca is the Euganean Hills village where Francesco Petrarca spent his last four years and died in 1374, renamed in his honor in 1868.
- Where is Arquà Petrarca?
- Arquà Petrarca is a comune in the province of Padova, in Veneto, at 56 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Arquà Petrarca?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Venice Marco Polo (VCE), about 56 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Padua to Arquà Petrarca?
- About 28 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Arquà Petrarca?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Arquà Petrarca?
- Morro d'Alba, Grinzane Cavour and Brugnato.
- How many people live in Arquà Petrarca?
- 1,779 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Arquà Petrarca a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Arquà Petrarca is a village with a town of 5,000 people within 15 minutes (Monselice, 9 min). The nearest city, Padova, is 28 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Monselice, 5 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 91% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
The numbers
- Elevation: 56 m
- Population: 1,779
- Surface area: 12.52 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Arquà Petrarca appears in
- The best hill towns within 75 minutes of VeniceNear Venicehill townwithin 75 min6 towns · smallest 1,779 residents · closest 50 min away
- The best hot-spring towns within two hours of VeniceNear Venicehot springswithin 2 hours6 towns · smallest 1,779 residents · closest 43 min away
- The prettiest small villages in VenetoVenetoprettiest villagessmall6 towns · smallest 738 residents
- The best towns inside a nature park in VenetoVenetoinside a park7 towns · smallest 1,779 residents
- The best hill towns within 75 minutes of BolognaNear Bolognahill townwithin 75 min8 towns · smallest 1,779 residents · closest 26 min away
- The best olive oil towns in VenetoVenetoolive oil8 towns · smallest 1,779 residents
Featured on
Arquà Petrarca appears on 3 themed picks from our Collections:
Similar
Towns like Arquà Petrarca
What all six share with Arquà Petrarca: inland, away from the coast · under 3,000 people
Morro d'Alba
Province: Ancona
both near sea level
Grinzane Cavour
Province: Cuneo
both near sea level
- Written about. No. 57.
Brugnato
Province: La Spezia
both near sea level
Volpedo
Province: Alessandria
both near sea level
Badalucco
Province: Imperia
both near sea level
Cison di Valmarino
Province: Treviso
1 h 48 min apart by road
The letter
Arquà Petrarca is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Arquà Petrarca comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Chioggia, 44 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.