Abano Terme (known as Abano Bagni until 1924) is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the

Province of Padua The Province of Padua (''Provincia di Padova'') is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Padua. Geography It has an area of 2,142 km2, and a total population of 936,492 (2016) making it the most populated p ...

, in the

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

region,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, on the eastern slope of the Euganean Hills; it is southwest by rail from

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

. Abano Terme's population is 19,062 (2001) (in 1901 it was 4,556). The town's

hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

and mud baths are an important economic resource. The waters have a temperature of about .

History

The baths were known to the Romans as '' Aponi fons'' or ''Aquae Patavinae''. A description of them is given in a letter to

Theodoric Theodoric is a Germanic given name. First attested as a Gothic name in the 5th century, it became widespread in the Germanic-speaking world, not least due to its most famous bearer, Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Overview The name ...

, the king of the

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the large Gothic populations who ...

, from

Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Roman statesman, renowned scholar of antiquity, and writer serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senator'' ...

. Some remains of the ancient baths have been discovered (S. Mandruzzato, ''Trattato dei Bagni d'Abano,'' Padua, 1789). An

oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word ...

Geryon In Greek mythology, Geryon ( or ;"Geryon"
''

The baths were destroyed by the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...

in the 6th century, but they were rebuilt and enlarged when Abano became an autonomous

in the 12th century and, again, in the late 14th century. The city was under the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...

from 1405 to 1797.

Main sights

Abano Cathedral Abano may refer to: * Pietro d'Abano (c.1257 – 1315), Italian philosopher, astrologer and professor of medicine * Abano Glacier, a glacier in Georgia * Abano (Kareli municipality), a village in Kareli municipality, Georgia * Abano (Kazbegi munic ...

, or the cathedral (''

duomo ''Duomo'' (, ) is an Italian term for a church with the features of, or having been built to serve as, a cathedral, whether or not it currently plays this role. Monza Cathedral, for example, has never been a diocesan seat and is by definition n ...

'') of St. Lawrence. The current edifice was erected in 1780 over a pre-existing church which was allegedly destroyed by

Cangrande della Scala Cangrande (christened Can Francesco) della Scala (9 March 1291 – 22 July 1329) was an Italian nobleman, belonging to the della Scala family which ruled Verona from 1308 until 1387. Now perhaps best known as the leading patron of the poet Dan ...

. The bell tower has parts from the 9th/10th and 14th centuries. *The Montirone Gallery, housing works of Il Moretto,

Palma il Giovane Iacopo Negretti (1548/50 – 14 October 1628), best known as Jacopo or Giacomo Palma il Giovane or simply Palma Giovane ("Young Palma"), was an Italian painter from Venice and a notable exponent of the Venetian school. After Tintoretto's death ...

Guido Reni Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religi ...

Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (August 30, 1727March 3, 1804) was an Italian painter and printmaker in etching. He was the son of artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and elder brother of Lorenzo Baldissera Tiepolo. Life history Domenico was born in ...

and others. *The Sanctuary of the ''Madonna della Salute'' or of Monteortone (built from 1428). It lies on the site where the Madonna appeared to Pietro Falco, healing his wounds. The church is on the Latin cross plan, with a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

and two aisles with three apses decorated by a

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

. It has with a Baroque portal (1667), a bell tower, presbytery

frescoes Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster ...

portraying the ''Histories of St. Peter'' and ''Virgin'' by

Jacopo da Montagnana Jacopo da Montagnana, also known as Jacopo Parisato (c. 1440 to 1443 in Montagnana – 20 April and 14 Agusut 1499 in Padua) was an Italian painter of the early Renaissance who was mainly active in the Padua area.John G. Bernasconi. "Jacopo da M ...

(1495) and

's altarpiece depicting ''Christ Crucifixed Between St. Augustine and St. Jerome''. Just outside the city is San Daniele Abbey (11th century). from the city is also

Praglia Abbey Praglia Abbey ( it, Abbazia di Praglia) is a Benedictine order, Benedictine monastery in the frazione of Bresseo in Teolo, Province of Padua, Italy. It is located at the foot of the Euganean Hills, some 12 kilometers southwest of Padua, and four ki ...

, founded in the 11th century by

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monks and rebuilt in 1496–1550. The abbey church of the Assumption, with a marble portal from 1548, has a Renaissance style interior.

People

Pietro d'Abano Pietro d'Abano, also known as Petrus de Apono, Petrus Aponensis or Peter of Abano (Premuda, Loris. "Abano, Pietro D'." in '' Dictionary of Scientific Biography.'' (1970). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Vol. 1: p.4-5.1316), was an Italian philo ...

(1316), Italian physician and philosopher

Twin towns

Shibukawa is a city in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 76,098 in 32,439 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Shibukawa is the location of Ikaho Onsen, a popular hot spring resort. ...

, Japan * Bad Füssing, Germany * Lipik, Croatia *

Kamena Vourla Kamena Vourla ( el, Καμένα Βούρλα, lit=Burnt Rushes, ) is a town and a municipality in Phthiotis, Greece. At the 2011 local government reform it became part of the municipality ''Molos-Agios Konstantinos'' (of which it became the s ...

, Greece

References

Sources

*''L'Italia da scoprire'', Giorgio Mondadori, 2006.

External links

Abano.it Touristic informations web site
{{authority control Cities and towns in Veneto Spa towns in Italy