Monastero Benedettino San Daniele

The earliest historical evidence of the building dates back to the last decades of the 11th century, founded by the Montagnon lords to honor the memory of the martyr saint Daniel, whose bones were discovered on December 26, 1075, while excavating under the floor of the church of Santa Giustina in Padua.
The monastery was entrusted by the founders to a community of Benedictine monks. During the 14th century, the severe spiritual crisis that affected all of Europe following the Western Schism also hit the community of San Daniele, which, due to a lack of vocations, was suppressed in 1460 by Pope Pius II, after various attempts at revitalization.
The Benedictine monks were succeeded by the Regular Canons of San Salvatore of Venice, who took possession of the hill in 1461. In the 1500s, the canons committed themselves to the demolition of the ancient monastery and its reconstruction according to the criteria and taste of the time. After a period of spiritual crisis due to a relaxing of regular discipline, between the late 1600s and early 1700s, the monastery flourished again thanks to a series of reforms. In this climate of general revival, the architectural restoration of the abbey took place, which included not only the repair of the monastic premises but also the realization of embellishments such as the construction of the church, a small architectural jewel designed by the Palladian architect Francesco Muttoni from Vicenza.
In the wake of the suppression of religious institutions, on September 12, 1771, a decree led to the auction of the canons' assets, which were purchased by lawyer Federico Todeschini from Venice. The property became the dowry of his daughter Elisabetta, the sole heir of the house, when she married Count Bartolomeo Bonomi in 1832. Some modifications were made to the monastic building to turn it into a comfortable and elegant summer residence. With World War II, the Bonomi family suffered a financial collapse: the villa-castle was lost in gambling to the Pescarin family of Montagnana.
The building, originally intended for religious purposes, returned to its original function in 1948 when the Benedictine nuns from Rijeka settled there. The following years, until 1958, were hectic with repairs and maintenance work to adapt the premises to the needs and lifestyle of the community.