The Story of The Giardini Della Rotunda
The name is connected to an episode which occurred during the 1509 siege by the German King Maximilian I during the War of the League of Cambrai. According to legend, a cat was flayed alive to frighten the enemy with its screams. A sculpture of a cat jutting out of a niche was placed on the outer part of the tower facing Codalunga Street in order to commemorate this event, as well as symbolize the freedom of the people of Padua.
The garden is so called because it was planned around the area where a monumental suspended tank with a circular shaped base was built. It is the first water tank to be built in Padua, a prestigious work of engineering dating back to the 1920s. It can hold 200 cubic metres (44,000 gallons) of water and was considered not only the best aqueduct in Italy but also one of the best water tanks in Europe.
It is also remarkable as regards the construction materials since it is one of the earliest examples of the use of concrete in Padua. The decision to build the water tank and Codalunga water power plant just on this spot was due to the following events:
- On 11 November an Austrian bomb exploded killing 96 inhabitants who had hidden inside the gunners which were considered safe shelters.
- On 29 October a bomb, dropped from a plane in 1918 but unexploded until then, went off and destroyed the electric power plant causing serious water supply problems to the city.
Read more about this topic: The Garden Of The Rotonda Padua
Famous quotes containing the word story:
“A good story is one that isn’t demanding, that proceeds from A to B, and above all doesn’t remind us of the bad times, the cardboard patches we used to wear in our shoes, the failed farms, the way people you love just up and die. It tells us instead that hard work and perseverance can overcome all obstacles; it tells lie after lie, and the happy ending is the happiest lie of all.”
—Kathleen Norris (b. 1947)