Veneto · Padova
Montagnana
A walled town on the lower Padova plain, its two kilometers of ramparts studded with 24 hexagonal towers.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Montagnana is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia, Bandiera Arancione and Spighe Verdi.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
- By car
- 53 min from Verona
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 9,110
- J8°
- F12°
- M15°
- A18°
- M23°
- J28°
- J31°
- A31°
- S26°
- O21°
- N13°
- D8°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Montagnana sits on the lower Padova plain, thirty-five kilometers southwest of Padova, on the watershed between the Adige and the Bacchiglione. The wall ring is unbroken enough that the town's whole plan still reads as the fortification that produced it: the castle anchors the eastern gate, the rocca anchors the western one, and the road to Verona runs between them through what was once contested ground between Ezzelino's garrison and the Carraresi who came after. Inside the walls, the center holds the Duomo and the two flanking palazzi around Piazza Maggiore, while the villa built for the cardinal stands deliberately outside the gate, a country house that still shows its face to the town. The May festival now fills the same ground the walls were built to defend, the modern economy of the place staged inside its medieval perimeter.
How to get there
From Verona (VRN), about 1 h 9 min by car.
Bologna (BLQ) is about 1 h 26 min away.
By car from the center of Padua 57 min or Venice 1 h 16 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Verona, Venice or Bologna?
Coming by train into Vicenza? Montagnana is about 46 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Verona airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Cinta muraria
Six to eight meters high and ninety-six centimeters thick, the rampart carries a continuous parapet walk, so the towers can be counted from above rather than just from the road.
Castello di San Zeno
Fortress at the eastern gate, built by Ezzelino III da Romano in 1242, with the Mastio tower 38 meters high and a civic museum inside.
Rocca degli Alberi
Western gate fortress built by the Carraresi between 1360 and 1362, with a moat and double drawbridge defending the road to Verona.
Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta
Gothic cathedral on Piazza Maggiore, holding a Transfiguration altarpiece by Paolo Veronese and a fresco of David and Goliath attributed to Giorgione.
Villa Pisani
Designed by Andrea Palladio for Cardinal Francesco Pisani, the villa stands outside the walls at the eastern gate, its facade built for the town side and its plan for the country.
Living here
Could you live here?
Montagnana meets all 3 of our rules for a small town.
- 9,110 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Vicenza, a city of 110,468, is 46 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
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 9,110, down 1.4% since 2015
- Nearest city Vicenza, 46 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Noventa Vicentina, 9 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,100 to €1,400 per m² to buy, €4.20 to €5.10 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
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 36% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Verona airport (VRN), 1 h 9 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Venice, 1 h 16 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
9% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Morocco, Albania and Romania, against 9% across Italy. There are 262 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 Noventa Vicentina, 9 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Vicenza, 35 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Padua, 38 km away. The nearest IB school is H-Farm International School Vicenza, 36 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.95% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, 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 0.7% and 0.79% to your income tax, depending on your income, with nothing due on income under €7,500. 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.
Known for
MEDIEVAL WALLS
Two kilometers of intact fourteenth-century brick ramparts with twenty-four hexagonal towers and four gates, one of the best-preserved rings in Europe.
VILLA PISANI
Andrea Palladio's villa for Cardinal Francesco Pisani, built around 1552 outside the eastern gate, a hybrid of urban facade and country plan.
PROSCIUTTO VENETO DOP
The Consorzio del Prosciutto Veneto Berico-Euganeo DOP was founded in Montagnana in 1971; the town hosts the May Festa del Prosciutto each year.
RADICCHIO DI VERONA
The commune also lies inside the Radicchio di Verona IGP production zone.
Common questions
- What is Montagnana known for?
- Montagnana is a walled town on the lower Padova plain, its two kilometers of ramparts studded with 24 hexagonal towers.
- Where is Montagnana?
- Montagnana is a comune in the province of Padova, in Veneto, at 16 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Montagnana?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Verona (VRN), about 1 h 9 min by car.
- Can you get to Montagnana without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Padua to Montagnana?
- About 57 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Montagnana?
- Best in Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Montagnana?
- Busseto, Pizzighettone and Soave.
- How many people live in Montagnana?
- 9,110 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Montagnana a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Montagnana is a small town that meets all 3 of our rules. The nearest city, Vicenza, is 46 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Noventa Vicentina, 9 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 36% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
The numbers
- Elevation: 16 m
- Population: 9,110
- Surface area: 45.03 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 Montagnana appears in
- The 6 best hidden towns you can reach by train in VenetoVenetoby trainhidden6 towns · smallest 3,897 residents
- The best towns known for what they grow within 75 minutes of PaduaNear Paduawithin 75 minproduce zone6 towns · smallest 8,911 residents · closest 52 min away
- The best towns known for what they grow within an hour of VeronaNear Veronawithin 60 minproduce zone6 towns · smallest 1,500 residents · closest 34 min away
- The best towns that cure their own meat within two hours of BresciaNear Bresciawithin 2 hourscured meat zone7 towns · smallest 244 residents · closest 66 min away
- The best towns that cure their own meat within two hours of PaduaNear Paduawithin 2 hourscured meat zone7 towns · smallest 669 residents · closest 35 min away
- The best towns that cure their own meat within two hours of VeronaNear Veronawithin 2 hourscured meat zone7 towns · smallest 669 residents · closest 46 min away
Featured on
Montagnana appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Similar
Towns like Montagnana
What all six share with Montagnana: in the Po valley · between 3,000 and 10,000 people
Busseto
Province: Parma
both near sea level · both have a railway station in the comune
Pizzighettone
Province: Cremona
both near sea level · both have a railway station in the comune
Soave
Province: Verona
both near sea level
San Benedetto Po
Province: Mantova
both near sea level · both have a railway station in the comune
Volta Mantovana
Province: Mantova
both near sea level
Racconigi
Province: Cuneo
both have a railway station in the comune
The letter
Read a sample letter
Chioggia | Everyone is wrong about this town
It’s not an alternative to Venice
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