音频游览 2. The Middle Ages and the Communal Age

The Middle Ages and the Communal Age.

The first documented evidence about Calvene dates back to around 900 A.D..

In 911, King Berengario I confirmed to the Bishop of Padua, who was granted the title of Count, the faculty to erect castles within the possessions he conceded him: Calvene was included in these domains.

In 924, Rudolph from Burgundy, King of Italy, reconfirmed all the privileges and the possessions to the episcopate of Padova: Calvene and its hamlets of Lugo and Lonedo were included within the fiefdoms of the Comitatu Vicentino.

In 1034, the Bishop of Padua donated the properties of the Pieve di Calvene and the Corte di Lugo to the Monastery of Santo Stefano in Padua; in 1091, the antipope Clement III reconfirmed that donation.

In 1071, the Longobard Giusto, son of Martino, left his possessions to the nuns of the Convent of Santo Stefano (Saint Stephan) in Padua.

The following centuries became the scenario of the wars between the Empire and the Communes. After the rise of Barbarossa, the tyrant Ezzelino da Romano extended his dominion also to Vicenza, including even the territory of Calvene: his presence is documented by the fact that, in 1250, he bought from a family of Breganze some properties in Calvene.

Two castles, built on site by the Bishops of Padua and already uninhabited in the XIII century, can be dated to the year 1000. The evidence of them remains today only in the toponymy of Calvene:

- one castle was located in the central area of Castellaro, to guard the valley of the Astico and the valley of the Chiavona against the incursions of the Hungarians;

- the other was located on the Monte Rocca or Castello, which divides the Valle Chioda and the Valle Porca; it was probably built by the Bishop of Padua himself.

With the fall of the Ezzelini, in 1260, the two castles passed to the City of Vicenza, apparently in 1262, probably following a regular purchase.

The destruction of the two fortifications could be dated to the 14th century, perhaps due to a violent reaction of the Paduans towards the territory Vicenza, which passed under the patronage of the Scaligeri.