The best traffic-free bike rides around Polverara

Located on viale Italia in Bovolenta, the Monument to the Fallen is a work of great emotional impact created by sculptor Rocco Mozzato and inaugurated in 1923. The sculptural group in Carrara marble and trachyte depicts the Motherland as a woman holding up a laurel wreath, flanked by a victorious soldier with a flag and a child symbolizing the future and rebirth. Unlike many contemporary works, it does not list individual names but celebrates the collective sacrifice of the soldiers from Bovolenta in the Great War through patriotic inscriptions. Since 2003, the site has also hosted a plaque in memory of Giorgio Perlasca, adding a further layer of civic and historical value to the place.

One-way traffic

Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua / Basilica of Saint Anthony, Padua The Basilica of Saint Anthony, known as "the Saint," is the city's most important religious center and attracts thousands of pilgrims every year, especially on June 13, the saint's feast day. The basilica was built in 1232 to protect the tomb of the Franciscan friar Anthony, who died in Padua in 1231. The large building presents a complex structure with a fusion of styles: Romanesque elements in the façade, Gothic elements in the ambulatory, Byzantine elements in the eight domes covered with lead, and Moorish elements in two tiers. The Church of Saint Anthony holds numerous reminders of the Carrara Signoria. In 1350, Cardinal Guido de Boulogne came to the cathedral to acknowledge the saint's miracle and was greeted by Jacopo II da Carrara and Bishop Hildebrand. Members of the Carraresi family, such as the Lupi di Soragna and the Conti, chose the basilica as the site for their own mausoleums. The Chapel of the Black Madonna now stands on the site of the earlier church, dedicated to Santa Maria, Mother of the Lord. The polychrome Madonna is by Rinaldino di Francia and dates from 1396. Rinaldino is also likely the artist of the shield bearing the portrait of Stefano da Carrara, now in the city museums. A funerary monument to Raffaele Fulgioso, a renowned jurist from the University of Padua, is located to the left of the chapel. The Chapel of Blessed Luca reveals even closer ties to the Carraresi family: it was built between 1380 and 1382 by Naimerio and Manfredino Conti, executing the will of Fina Buzzaccarini. They commissioned Giusto de'Menabuoi, a painter from the Carraresi court, to create the frescoes. The stories of Saints Philip and James, arranged on the chapel walls, reveal a surprising new sense of spaciousness. In the center, within the lunette, are portraits of the patrons: Saint Anthony, Blessed Luke, Saint Francis, and Saint Louis of Toulouse, as they are presented to the Virgin. Text / Source: Turismo Padova https://www.padua.info/de/padua/was-zu-sehen-ist/details/basilica-di-santantonio

Great place to stop, lots of tables but not much space to park your bike if you don't have a stand.

A small refuge for cyclists, wayfarers and the curious. The Telaio Bike Caffè is more than a break: it is a place where you sit and feel part of something. Good coffee, sincere smiles, stories that intertwine between a water bottle that fills up and a fruit salad that runs out. If you are traveling to Casa Luciana or are simply enjoying the Venetian countryside, this is one of those places that is worth the detour.

The unfinished

Brenta D'Abbà is a small hamlet in the municipality of Correzzola Pd, along the Bacchiglione river. It has a pizzeria that opens on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, so if you are in the area, look for pizzeria Principe https://www.facebook.com/share/1ASwA5EGEx/

The best thing about this place is ultra-original name. Even Caffe Commercio across the road can't beat it.