Parco Montirone, Abano Terme: visitor guide

Rising just five meters above the plain, Montirone is a mound of travertine formed roughly 30,000 years ago by calcium carbonate deposits from deep geothermal waters. Located in the center of Abano Terme, it served as the natural thermal source of the Euganean basin until the mid-1960s. The site transitioned from an Augustan sanctuary dedicated to the deity Aponus into an 18th-century thermal resort under the Republic of Venice, before becoming a public park.

What to see

The park preserves the natural travertine formation crossed by geological fractures. Embedded in the exterior wall of the building to the left of the entrance is a replica of a Roman votive inscription dedicated to Aponus by Gaius Cluentius Proculus, with the original kept at the Archaeological Museum of Padua. Opposite the park stands the former Oratory of San Giovanni, designed in 1779 by architect Domenico Cerato for bathers. Its façade features an inscription from 1779, Nanto stone door jambs, and a tympanum rose window containing a sandstone Lion of Venice carved from Vicenza stone, which was uncovered during 1987–1988 restorations. Inside sits an 18th-century altar crafted from stucco and red Verona marble. The entrance structures, redesigned in the 19th century by architect Giuseppe Jappelli, previously housed the civic art galleries prior to their relocation to Villa Bassi Rathgeb.

Visiting

Montirone functions as an open municipal park accessible to visitors. The former Oratory of San Giovanni was deconsecrated in the 1950s when liturgical services moved to the nearby Sacro Cuore church; today it is privately owned and opens periodically as a cultural and exhibition venue.

Our editors' tip

Examine the central rose window on the façade of Cerato's 1779 oratory: the carved Vicenza stone relief of the Venetian Lion was bricked over for decades before being rediscovered and restored in 1987.

Also in Abano Terme

Museo Villa Bassi Rathgeb 📍 200 m Abano Terme's civic museum occupies a 16th-century Venetian villa housing the Bassi Rathgeb fine art collection. duomo di Abano Terme 📍 1.4 km Abano Terme's cathedral features a 14th-century Gothic bell tower and a rich collection of Venetian sacred art. santuario della Beata Vergine della Salute 📍 1.5 km A 15th-century sanctuary in Monteortone housing frescoes by Jacopo da Montagnana and works by Palma the Younger. Museo Internazionale della Maschera Amleto e Donato Sartori 📍 1.8 km Located in Villa Trevisan Savioli, this museum displays 2,000 theatrical masks created by the Sartori family.

Nearby

The closest places worth seeing as the crow flies, even across province lines.

Prato della Valle 📍 Padua · 9.3 km At 90,000 square meters, this monumental elliptical square is one of Europe's largest, ringed by 78 stone statues. Scrovegni Chapel 📍 Padua · 10 km Giotto frescoed the entire chapel between 1303 and 1305, in 625 counted working days. basilica di Sant'Antonio di Padova 📍 Padua · 9.7 km Padua made him a saint in under a year, and his little church is still inside the basilica. Osservatorio e museo "La Specola" 📍 Padua · 9.0 km Ezzelino's prison tower turned observatory: the meridian room and the terrace above Padua.

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