Noventa: Villas, Churches and Festivals

Noventa can be planned as a travel destination around several distinct themes: architecture and sacred art, two festivals held at different times of the year, and a named cycling route. When planning a stay, you can match your cultural interests with your travel dates. The historic buildings offer a different focus from the Fiera del Folpo in October or the Festa del Redentore in July. A cycling route is another specific way to give your stay a theme.

Architecture and sacred art

The Church of Santi Pietro e Paolo in Noventa Padovana was built in 1747. Its eclectic style combines Gothic-Venetian and Moorish motifs. The church also houses a statue of the Madonna and Child attributed to Giovanni Bonazza. Several distinct aspects come together in this one building: its date of construction, its stylistic blend, and a work of art with a specific attribution. You can consider these historical and art-historical themes together when planning your cultural activities.

At Villa Giovanelli, the architecture of the pronaos is the main attraction. The brothers Giovanni Paolo and Giovanni Benedetto Giovanelli began building the villa between 1680 and 1690. Its pronaos has eight columns and a semi-hexadecagonal floor plan. This shape earned the building the nickname “Villa Tempio.” The name and colonnade are thus integral to the architectural feature that sets the building apart from the church motifs.

Villa Grimani Valmarana offers another artistic highlight: it houses extensive 18th-century fresco cycles by Andrea Urbani. While the shape of the pronaos is distinctive at Villa Giovanelli, the fresco cycles take center stage here. Together with the church, this offers a broad cultural interest in architectural forms, painting, and sacred art.

Festivals and travel dates

The Fiera del Folpo traditionally takes place on a set date in the calendar: the fourth Sunday in October. This date was established in 1776. At the fair, you can visit traditional taverns and the “folpàri,” the last representatives of the old tradition. Food offerings may vary from one edition to another. For travel planning, the Fiera therefore combines a specific autumn date with a culinary focus.

The Festa del Redentore in Noventa takes place on the evening of the third Saturday in July. The festival includes dancing, good food, and fireworks that are always original. The program for the relevant year is part of planning a specific trip. Compared with the Fiera, it takes place in a different month and offers a different festival focus: October is associated with the traditional Fiera, while July is associated with the Redentore festival evening.

If you want to plan your trip around a particular festival, these different dates can help you choose when to visit. The Fiera is held on the fourth Sunday in October; the Festa del Redentore falls on the third Saturday in July. Architectural and art history offer a separate focus that is not tied to either of these festival dates.

A cycling route as another perspective

The cycling route “Noventa Padovana – Noventana – Strà – Noventa Padovana” is another specifically named focus. It starts at the bridge over the Piovego in Noventa Padovana. Its very name distinguishes this travel idea from a stay focused mainly on villas, church art, or a festival date. When planning your trip, you can weigh culture, seasonal events, and a cycling route without treating these different experiences as interchangeable.

When choosing a hotel in Noventa, it may help to first decide what you want your stay to focus on: historic architecture and works of art, one of the two festival dates, or the cycling route. Your travel dates and interests provide clear guidance, without requiring the different themes to involve the same itinerary.

For the main travel overview: Noventa Padovana.