The most convenient starting point, due to the presence of parking, is located at the Sanctuary; starting the walk from the right side of the church, where the access to the "Via Crucis" is also indicated, a determined but not difficult ascent allows one to enjoy a splendid panorama of the religious site and the entire plain of Abano Terme and Padua.
Following the ridge, the path travels through suggestive stretches inside a dense Mediterranean scrub with abundant presence of Tree Heath, Strawberry Tree, Medlar, Privet, and Hackberry, mixed in the upper stretch with Downy Oak and the first chestnut trees. In spring, the undergrowth is rich with flowers of Dog Violet, Cornflower, Hanging Silene, and Blue Grape Hyacinth. At the summit, one can spot the tiny Common Cystisus, a parasitic little plant a few centimeters tall with yellow-orange flowers. In the oak forest, specimens of Oak and Dalechamp's Oak are observed. The chestnut grove dominates the northern slope; some specimens of Austrian Black Pine are also present.
Along the route, some panoramic windows open between the branches of the trees, particularly towards the plain to the north, the Venetian Prealps, and, on clear days, the Dolomite peaks.
At the resting area at the top of the hill, there is a cross symbolizing the summit; from here, one descends along the western slope, with a panoramic path over the Euganean Hills that alternates flat stretches with steeper ones equipped with ladders on rocks and handrails. On this slope, one can observe the old dry stone walls on the terraced fields once cultivated by the Friars. There are also remnants from World War II: an air raid shelter and the ancient cloister where a German command was installed.
A curiosity at the edge of the path is the presence of the "Book Nook", an initiative born to allow reading through the free exchange of texts, developed mainly within natural environments characterized by silence and meditation.
After a few hairpin bends, it is possible to reach the road near the Rialto ditch, divert towards the southern slope until reaching the road close to some houses, or continue until reconnecting with the path that climbs up from the Sanctuary, completing the loop. From the access near the Rialto ditch, a comfortable path begins that follows the entire northern slope, skirting the edge of an old rhyolite quarry, now colonized by vegetation of some interest; due to the extraction of material, some areas of stagnant water have formed that host typical wetland species, such as Pennyroyal, Centaury, and Graceful. Among the stones, you can find Greater Plantain and Creeping Bellflower. From here, it is possible to return to Monteortone, or by deviating uphill on the path, to reconnect near the ridge line with the trail coming from the Sanctuary.
*Botanical Curiosities:
Among the rare and interesting species reported are: Carex distachya, Anogramma leptophylla, Verbascum phoeniceum, Pulicaria vulgaris, Mentha pulegium, Pilosella piloselloides subsp. praealta, Cytinus hypocistis, Dryopteris cambrensis subsp. insubrica, Fumaria capreolata, Platanthera bifolia, Listera ovata.
On the slopes of the hill, we can encounter some fungal species considered rare for the Euganean area like Suillus luteus, perhaps the most beautiful fungus belonging to the genus Suillus; Hygrocybe psittacina and Hygrocybe helobia, a small fungus with bright scarlet color.
*Text with naturalistic information by Rizzieri Masin.
The Sanctuary of the Madonna della Salute:
The tradition holds that in 1428, soldier Pietro Falco had an apparition of the Madonna here, promising him healing from old war wounds in his legs, thanks to the water from a nearby spring. The soldier was healed and found among the stones a wooden painting depicting the Virgin with the Child Jesus, flanked by Saint Roch and Saint Augustine; it was placed in a small oratory, which over time was incorporated into the current church. Devotion increased after the end of the plague that afflicted Padua at that time: since then, crowds of pilgrims visit this place. Brother Simone from Camerino, a famous preacher, had the first church built (consecrated in 1435) with an attached convent and founded the Augustinians of the Blessed Virgin of Monteortone. It was reconstructed and expanded after a fire, designed by Pietro Lombardo, and today it appears as an imposing three-nave temple, in Latin cross design. To the right of the façade, there is a small grotto, now masonry, accessible by a staircase, where pilgrims can bathe with the warm water from the spring considered miraculous. In the chapels that close the two side aisles, one can admire works by Bissoni and Palma il Giovane. The masterpiece of the church is the central apse, with an elaborate cupping topped by a cross-vault, all frescoed by Jacopo da Montagnana. At the center, the altar is inlaid with polychrome marbles from 1683. Through an ambulatory, the pilgrim passes behind the altar and sees up close the Marian image, still at the center of processions and religious festivals today. The church is completed by an elegant Gothic bell tower with a spire-shaped roof. After various ownership changes and forced closures, the sacred place was definitively reopened to worship in the early 1900s and became a parish church in 1925. The former convent retains a large cloister with a wellhead from the late '500. The building was a private care place, later established by the Salesians from 1937 to 1970; today, it is the San Marco hotel and thermal establishment, managed by the same religious family.
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