Rovigo Castle and the Donà and Grimani Towers
The two towers from which the city was born
Two leaning towers, a garden, a few stretches of wall: all that remains of the castle from which Rovigo was born, more than a thousand years ago.
Small on maps, rich in stories
A Rovigo
to discover
A town of leaning towers, of a canal buried beneath its main street, and of bishops who for a thousand years lived far from their cathedral. Here we tell what you cannot see.
History, landscapes, people, hidden wonders
Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II and the Column of the Lion of Saint MarkPiazza Vittorio Emanuele II (Rovigo), 2002 · Atigra · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Rovigo, more than you imagine
Stories you wouldn't expect
Places, people, curiosities
La Rotonda, Temple of the Beata Vergine del Soccorso
Two octagons for a Madonna with a rose
A miraculous fresco, two octagons one inside the other, sixty years of great Venetian painting: the Rotonda is faith and Venetian power.
Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II and the Column of the Lion of Saint Mark
Rovigo’s drawing room and its lion restored
In 1797 the French destroyed the Lion of Saint Mark, and the column stood without its symbol until 1881. The story of Rovigo’s drawing room.
Palazzo Roverella
The cardinal’s palazzo that was never finished
A cardinal, a building site halted in 1477, a terracotta façade in the Este taste: today Palazzo Roverella is a major Veneto exhibition venue.
Rovigo Segreta
Did you know?
Rovigo of the Bishops
Rovigo of the Bishops
For a thousand years the Bishop “of Adria” lived in Rovigo. Churches, convents and archives keep this story. It begins at San Domenico, the church that shows the town only its side.
Sacred place · Rovigo
Church of San Domenico
The church that shows only its side
No churchyard, no façade: it shows the city only its flank. Behind that wall lie five centuries of hospitals, Dominican friars and markets.
Church of San Domenico- Duomo (Co-Cathedral) of Santo StefanoThe bishops’ church, with a façade never finished
- La Rotonda, Temple of the Beata Vergine del SoccorsoTwo octagons for a Madonna with a rose
- Church of San Bartolomeo and the Olivetan MonasteryFrom Umiliati wool-workers to the monks of Monte Oliveto
- Church of San FrancescoThe convent the Este family wanted
- Former Seminario VescovileThe seminary born of the Council of Trent
- Curia and Bishop’s PalaceA thousand years to move from Adria to Rovigo
Stories & legends
Legend has it…
Legends, mysteries and true stories that sound invented. Each with its share of truth.
The Banquet of San Martino
The Carbonari of Fratta and the dinner that led to the Spielberg
11 November 1818: in Fratta Polesine a patriots’ banquet ends in cheers. Then come denunciations, arrests, the Spielberg. The story of the Carbonari.
Rossini, the Cat of Rovigo
The ginger cat who became the city’s symbol
Rescued in Bosnia, adopted by a whole city: Rossini roamed Rovigo’s banks, bars and arcades, until he became its symbol.
The Madonna del Soccorso and the 115 Miracles
The popular devotion that gave birth to the Rotonda
From 1591 an image of the Virgin drew crowds of pilgrims to Rovigo. Tradition credits it with 115 wonders, and from them the Rotonda was born.
Routes
Routes
Walking routes in town and driving routes through the Polesine, stop by stop.
All routesOn foot · 2–3 hours
Rovigo of the Bishops
8 stops On foot · 2 hoursHidden Rovigo in an afternoon
12 stops By car · A full dayVillas, Carbonari and sanctuaries
6 stops By car · A full dayAdria and the Po Delta
6 stops By car · Half a dayAlong the Great River
3 stops On foot · About 1 hourMysterious Rovigo
5 stops By car · A full dayThe Delta: water, land and flavours
6 stops By car · A full dayAlto Polesine: whirlpools and great names
5 stopsPlaces
Places
Churches, palaces, towers, villas and landscapes of Rovigo and the Polesine, each with its own story.
Accademia dei Concordi
Four and a half centuries of books, art and concord
Born in 1580 from gatherings of men of letters in a count’s palazzo, the Accademia dei Concordi keeps the city library and a precious art collection.
The Vanished Adigetto and Corso del Popolo
The street that walks on top of a river
Corso del Popolo runs where the Adigetto once flowed. In 1937 the river was diverted, and the old river town changed its face.
Rovigo Castle and the Donà and Grimani Towers
The two towers from which the city was born
Two leaning towers, a garden, a few stretches of wall: all that remains of the castle from which Rovigo was born, more than a thousand years ago.
Places
Beyond the town
Villas, abbeys, sanctuaries, castles and the Po Delta: the Polesine few people know.
Abbey of the Vangadizza
The abbey that was both lordship and diocese
Badia Polesine is named after an abbey that was once a fief and a diocese. Its cloister, apse and leaning bell tower still hold that memory.
Adria Cathedral and the Byzantine Crypt
Two cathedrals and six apostles underground
In Adria two cathedrals face each other a few steps apart. Beneath, a frescoed chapel with six apostles keeps over a thousand years of faith.
Villa Badoer
La Badoèra, Palladio’s temple on the plain
The Polesine’s only UNESCO site: the villa where Palladio first used a temple front, with barchesse curving out like two open arms.
“The most fascinating cities are those that still know how to surprise.”— Rovigo Segreta
Rovigo is a story that continues.