Mura di Cittadella: biglietti, orari e consigli

The citadel walls bear two giant depictions of the Carrarese cart, the symbol of the family and its name. One is on the interior facade of the Bassano Gate and the other is on the exterior of Padua Gate beside the Torre di Malta, the Ezzelino-era prison. Other than these emblems, there are no indications of the Carraresi family, probably because by the beginning of the signoria in 1318, the citadel fortifications had already been built, at the order of the Commune of Padua. The construction was supervised by Benvenuto da Carturo. During the Carraresi period the primary role of the citadel became representation. In 1347, both King Ludovico of Hungary and Emperor Charles IV were hosted by Jacopo II at the Castle - they had been called to Italy by Padua's allies in its struggle against the Visconti. But the most important occasion for the fame of the city was the organisation of a peace conference in February 1381, at the end of the Chioggian War, in which Venice lost and then reconquered Chioggia. The Citadel was probably chosen because of the security offered by its walls. Those present at the conference included Cardinal Agapito Colonna, as legate of the Pope, the representatives of Venice, of the Patriarch of Aquila, the Genoese government, Hungary, the Scaligeri of Verona, the Carraresi, and also of the Commune of Padua, the latter at the will of Francesco the Elder. The conference began positively but the Venetians ultimately refused to agree to any pact.