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The Monselice Hill is the extreme relief located southeast of the Euganean Hills. Its rounded shape has an altitude of 150 meters above sea level, a diameter at the base of about 500 meters that narrows at the top to about 80 meters. The Rocca with its Frederick Keep located on the top, has become representative of the medieval urban landscape of Monselice and its history. The building, commissioned by Frederick II of Swabia, was built on the ruins of the ancient Parish Church of Santa Giustina which was then rebuilt halfway up the mountain. The Church of Santa Giustina, built before the year One thousand, has been built inside a fortified settlement born after the end of the Western Roman Empire in a highly strategic border area, between the areas recovered by the Imperials and those where the Goths and then the Lombards settled. It is not clear, however, whether the origin of the castle is to be attributed to the Goths or the Byzantines.

In the early Middle Ages
The first written sources where Monselice is mentioned explicitly are the Cosmographia of Anonimo Ravennate composed between the seventh and eighth centuries AD and the Historia Langobardorum of Paolo Diacono written at the end of the eighth century A.D. In the Cosmographia, Monselice is listed among the cities (civitates) of Italy located "circa maris litora" (IV, 31 Monssilicis) while in the Historia Langobardorum it is named together with Padua and Mantua as cities (civitates) of Northern Italy that were not conquered in the first phase of the Lombard advance led by King Alboino in 568 AD. In the description of the offensive of King Agilulfo that will lead to the Lombard conquest of Padua and Monselice in 601 AD, Paolo Diacono defines Monselice castrum. The sources between the sixth and ninth centuries AD do not give a precise distinction between the terms castrum and civitas, the use of both refers either to newly born "castles" and to cities of ancient tradition. The village of Monselice was extended from the top of Mount of Rocca to its floor, as evidenced by archaeological layers referable to the early Middle Ages. The various hamlet that developed outside the castle walls was under the authority of the churches connected to monasteries, owners of land that had been donated to them by sovereigns or families with public functions. The archaeological excavations of recent years have integrated the written sources allowing to place the foundation of Monselice in the sixth century AD. The evaluation was concentrated around the remains of a wall that descend from the top towards the western slopes and that allowed two different supposition on its construction. On one side, the Gothic era when King Teodorico decided to strengthen the defensive system in the face of the expansion of the Franks. The other supposition is the Byzantine era when the settlement was included in the defense works to protect the territory of Padua from the attacks of the Lombards stationed in Vicenza and Verona in 569. Monselice was able to remain under the Byzantine control until 601 – 602 when the Lombard King Agilulfo subdue it. From this moment the castrum will conquer the role of military and administrative direction of the territory on disadvantage of Padua as well as the character of frontier territory. The hamlet will be able to maintain the functions related to military security but at the same time it will not be abandoned when the defensive needs will cease. Another element that will mark the course of historical events is the presence of a curtis regia since the Lombard era. This testifies an important presence of fiscal goods and that will be a constant fact of medieval history of Monselice which will become a direct heritage of the empire in the thirteenth century. During history, the Rocca could play a strategic and military role thanks to its privileged position fundamental for the observation and control of the surrounding plain; an isolated hill from the top of which you could see the Adriatic coasts, the Venetian Prealps and the Po Valley. On the south of the Euganean hills used to pass the river Adige. Its flow surrounded the Rocca hill and then it was divided into two secondary branches. Written sources of 906 AD attest that Monselice was the seat of a committee in the era of Carolingian domination, that is a published district administered by an Earl. The committee covered a vast territory but did not last long; a document of 970 attests that Padua regains its administrative primacy as the seat of comitatus and Monselice was subordinate as iudicaria, a term that at the time designated a minor district compared to the committee.

After the year One thousand
There are numerous elements that testify on how Monselice was linked to imperial power in these years. From 1013 there was an rea used for public power, Mansio Publica, where took place everything that was of royal competence, in particular the judicial cases. In 1160 and 1161 is attested the presence of Frederick Barbarossa official, Earl Pagano, which delivers judgments in a Mansio Publica. Also in 1161, and again in 1184, is attested the presence of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa himself. The relationship that bound Monselice to the emperor was based on two elements; the state property and the long tradition of direct relationship between the resident community and the sovereign. Consequently, the sovereign had the faculty of military use of the structures and further fortifications, as Frederick II will do in 1239. Alongside the royal authority, members of the aristocracy, Knights and notary started to elected their representatives, called Consuls and mayor. This form of self-government led to the formation of the Municipality, which was controlled by imperial officials or the Emperor himself. With the death of Emperor Henry V, successor of Frederick Barbarossa, Monselice ended up in the sphere of municipal influence of Padua and started economic relationship with some aristocratic families of the city. These economic relations were supported by the excavations of the Battaglia Canal that took place between 1189 and 1201. The Canal facilitated the birth of hydraulic systems such as mills for the processing of fabrics or paper mills. In the early thirteenth century A.D. the political dispute that saw the factions of Guelphs and Ghibellines had implications in the territory of the Lower Padua. Azzo VII d'Este, Lord of nearby Este and already a protégé of Emperor Frederick II, later came into conflict with him by taking on the task of leading the Guelphs of the March. With the advent of Emperor Frederick II of Swabia, Monselice returned under imperial hegemony, the resumption of control over Monselice was possible thanks to the collaboration with Ezzelino III da Romano, Lord of the Marca Trevigiana. In anticipation of his attack on the city of Monselice, the Emperor asked Ezzelino, to raise a structure to defend the town. He therefore ordered the construction of a fortress located at the top of the hill that dominates the town and part of the surrounding plain. Begun in 1239, for its structure it was used the demolishing materials of the ancient Parish Church of Santa Giustina. The fortress, with a square plan, rose from a truncated pyramidal base that supports the inhabited part, about 20 meters high, towards the top part made of wood, surrounded by five walls, of which the oldest pre-existing parts date back to the sixth century, making it impregnable for the war capacity of the time. Rolandino da Padova testifies in his Chronicles the fortification of the summit fortress and its curtain walls to ensure the safety of the place and the fact that Frederick II ordered its construction during the visit to Monselice in 1239. The result is an image of "Imperial city" to which contemporaries immediately associated the castle clearly visible from all the surrounding territory. After the death of Frederick II in 1250 and the defeat of Ezzelino, Monselice returned definitively under the influence of the Municipality of Padua. In the following years the fortification followed the fate of the territory and Monselice until it was conquered by the troops of the Scaligeri in 1317. From this moment begins a long period of instability that will last until the summer of 1338. That year Monselice will be conquered after a long siege imposed by Marsilio da Carrara and Ubertino da Carrara and will pass under the dominion of Carrara, Lords of Padua. As a defensive outpost to the south, the plant of the walls of Ezzelino was expanded and further fortified, which assumed their final configuration in the second half of the fourteenth century: an outer circle with towers and monumental access gates and four inner circles, which go up the fortress to the tower on the summit. The Carrara period does not only see interventions to the works of defense, the Lords of Padua identify the place for their residence and will have the castle as a donation, as testified by the diploma of conferment to Giacomo II da Carrara by Emperor Charles IV of Luxembourg in 1348. A few years later, the Emperor himself stayed one night in the palace now called Ca' Marcello. At the beginning of the '400 Monselice will be involved in the conflict between Venice and the Carraresi and in 1405 it will be delivered peacefully to the Venetian Commander Carlo Zeno. The castle will be sold to the Serenissima and some rich Venetian families like the Marcello and Duodo. In the following years, periods of absence of war events and the evolution of weapons and strategy, the fortresses conceived in the medieval period, become obsolete and it has gradually lost its strategic importance and was left to the neglect of time and abandoned.

Archaeological research
Important historical confirmations and new discoveries has come to light thanks to archaeological excavations that took place in three different phases; •	1988-1990 a first phase coordinated by the Venetian Archaeological Society under the direction of Gian Pietro Brogiolo, aimed at verifying archaeological deposits through reconnaissance, surveys, stratigraphic analysis of preserved architecture and excavation essays. The investigations concerned four sample areas of the summit hamlet, of Mezzacosta and of the Pedemonte and allowed to document sections of the early medieval walls, a tower and a Lombard burials. •	1995-1996 a second phase of research coordinated by Gian Pietro Brogiolo with investigations on the top of the hill has brought to light walls that belonged to the church of Santa Giustina together with a tower and a large building dating back to the period before the construction of the Friedrick keep. •	2021-2022 a third phase entrusted to the University of Padua under the direction of Alexandra Chavarrìa Arnau which allowed to study and document the numerous wall structures preserved in the different areas of the Rocca. The excavation was carried out in the south and east area of the keep highlighting the various phases of construction of the church of Santa Giustina together with a large funerary area dating from the early Middle Ages and the thirteenth century AD. Among the numerous archaeological finds found there are ceramics, metals, elements belonging to the decoration of the building of worship and many skeletal remains.

Lombard burials
The excavations of 1989 brought to light 5 Lombard burials belonging to 4 adult male subjects and 3 children. Along with the bodies, objects of personal use such as combs and knives were found along with weapons of offense and defense. The objects were laid with the buried to testify to the role they had played within the society in which they lived. The presence of weapons and the high quality of the utensils suggest that they were warriors and highlight the contacts and mutual influences between Byzantine and Lombard Christian culture. Of the Christian world was found a small cross in gold foil and a silver belt tip, on both objects is engraved a monogram in Latin, in other words a symbol formed by the union of several letters. The knowledge of the monograms makes us understand how writing was in use among the settled Lombards and their belonging to a ruling class capable of dialoguing with the representatives of the Byzantine Empire and the church. To the Germanic civilization instead, are linked the kits of weapons placed next to the body or carried by the deceased and concern swords, spears, shields and large knives called scramasax. The weapons were worn with special leather or fabric belts enriched with iron or bronze elements such as buckles, tips, reinforcement plates, decorated with typical abstract interweaving of animals similar to dragons or snakes.

Parish Church of Santa Giustina
An important element of continuity of the fortress from the early Middle Ages until the thirteenth century AD was given by the Parish Church of Santa Giustina. It was located on the top of the hill and was demolished at the time of the construction of the Frederick Keep in the mid-1200s AD. The building had managed to retain the role of plebeian church until its demolition even though at that time the concentration of the habitation was already had move down the valley The remains of the walls allow to reconstruct the plan of the building that was rectangular in shape, consisting of 3 naves and semicircular apse, oriented to the east-west, 17 m wide and 32 m long. The floor was in mosaic, as per numerous square tesserae (opus tessellatum) and stone slabs cut according to different geometric shapes (opus sectile) found during the excavations. The crypt was accessed from inside the building through three arches resting on two central columns. It is conceivable that the church could have been built in two different phases, this hypothesis is suggested by the fact that in the masonry of the southwest corner, different construction techniques have been identified. The first phase dates back to the early Middle Ages while the second phase concerns the end of the eleventh and the beginning of the twelfth century AD when the church was enlarged. Another element that suggests the existence of a church prior to the Romanesque one, is the discovery of some tombs placed under the floor of the crypt. In the outer part of the south wall, was identified a furnace that was used for smelting and forging iron, probably useful for the construction site of the new Romanesque church. To the two different phases of the building, belong the graves of the cemetery found in the space outside the church. The temporal dating of some tombs was carried out with the radiocarbon dating technique that allows to measure the concentration in a find of organic origin such as bones, teeth, wood, textile fibers, seeds or wood charcoal. The skeletal material of about 80 individuals was the subject of anthropological analysis that allowed to recognize 20 men, 4 women and 7 children. To the west of the church of Santa Giustina, a tower and a large building have been identified. Both belong to the period before the reorganization of the defensive structure that took place with Frederick II. The tower has a square plan of 8 X 8 m and is built with small trachyte ashlar. The inner part of the walls, on the other hand, is composed of fragments of stone bound by abundant mortar. Leaning against the tower, there is a large basement building with a rectangular plan, the space is divided by a wall into two rooms of different sizes. The construction technique of the buildings allows their temporal location in the eleventh and twelfth centuries AD. To the same period belong other buildings in the historic center of Monselice and also the building typology of the house with tower (fortified house or domus turrita) witnessed in Padua in Palazzo Capodilista or Palazzo Zabarella. Most likely the function attributable to the buildings is to host priests and clerics who carried out their functions in the parish church of Santa Giustina.

The cult of Santa Giustina
Santa Giustina was a Paduan martyr who died during the period of persecution of Emperor Diocletian. At that time the Empire was based on the tetrarchy and the co-emperor Maximian was passing through Padua where he had raised the tribunal to judge the Christians. Giustina was captured while attempting to escape after trying to visit the captured Christians and after refusing to sacrifice to the pagan gods, she was sentenced by Maximian himself who ordered her to be killed by means of the sword. Those facts of her life are based on what is reported in the Acta Martyrum and in the Passium kept in the Capitular Library of Padua identified as the Lectionary of Monselice. Among the first who spread the name of Santa Giustina was the imperial magistrate Opilione who erected in her honor an oratory and a basilica where the Christian community of Padua could gather. It is probable that the cult of Santa Giustina was brought to Monselice from Padua during the escape of its citizens because of the first Lombard raids in the years 568-569.

Friedrich Keep
The defensive structure of the fortress, built by Frederick II, can be analyzed in detail thanks to the structures preserved until today and to the written sources. The Keep has a quadrangular shape and the base is truncated pyramidal in shape measuring 8.5 X 9 m. Inside of it were obtained a cistern fed by the rain collected from the roof and a discharge compartment of the latrines. The tower was developed in three floors for a total of 20 m in height and was accessed by an open entrance on the west side. The entrance was about 8.8 m high from the ground and was served by a wooden bridge connected to a double ramp staircase leaning against the Romanesque tower in front. Inside the keep there were two independent living rooms connected by an internal staircase, two bathrooms and a well to draw water from the cistern placed in the basement. The defensive system that surrounds the summit plateau consists of an elliptical wall 210 m long. It also incorporates the domus turrita which remained in use as a residential function. The access to the fortification was probably located in the north-eastern corner of the walls where today is the portal rebuilt in medieval style in the early '900.

The Duodo and Marcello families
After the war of 1509, the castle lost its military function and was given to the Republic of Venice and to the noble Marcello family who were owners of the palace called Ezzelino in the Pedemonte area. The slope of the hill north of the palace of Ezzelino was organized in terraces where vineyards and olive trees were cultivated and extended for about 2 hectares. The land to the east of the fortress was sold to the Venetian nobleman Francesco Duodo who built his residence known as Villa Duodo. Together with the construction of the villa, the eastern slopes of the fortress were arranged in terraces used as a garden. The support was given by dry stone walls built with trachyte flakes, the remains of these constructions are still visible today. Of the agrarian use of the hill, there are detailed maps in the Land Registry of the convent of San Francesco drawn up in 1741 and kept at the State Archives of Padua. It is a list of assets that belonged to the convent of San Francesco di Monselice and was demolished around 1776. The document was drawn up for tax purposes and was enriched by the drawings of Friar Giovanni Antonio Bortoli that reproduce in detail the city center and the Rocca hill.

The quarries
From a geological point of view, the hill of the Rocca is composed of trachyte, volcanic rock particularly valuable for its resistance and also for its aesthetic qualities. Its extraction in the area has a long tradition, to the Romans we owe its spread in the main centers of northern Italy where it was used above all for the construction of roads and buildings. The extraction of trachyte continues even in medieval times with the opening of new quarries and also with reactivation of those no longer in use. The moment of most important exploitation of the rock was during the period of the Serenissima Republic of Venice. Between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries AD, trachyte blocks were used for the defense works of the lagoon coast and for the paving of streets and squares of the main Venetian cities, especially Venice, where in 1723 the floor of Piazza San Marco, designed by the architect Andrea Tirali, was covered with trachyte slabs. At the end of the 800 there is an important increase in trachyte extraction to cope with the great works of river embankment, for the substrates and railway ballasts. Historical sources document the existence of quarries starting from the first official document dating back to 1532 which shows the supply of stones for the construction of the church of Santa Giustina in Padua. In the first half of the eighteenth century, the sources testify the existence of 12 quarries distributed along the slopes of the hill and which were mostly owned by noble Venetian families and managed by local quarrymen against the payment of a fixed annual rent. In 1875 there were 3 active quarries on the Rocca hill: Balbi Valier quarry on the eastern side, Ramina quarry at the church of Santa Giustina and Giraldi quarry northwest of Ca' Marcello. The mining activities in the quarries led to the destruction of almost a third of the hill irreversibly modifying its morphological appearance. Around the years 1930 the extraction activities ceased due to the will of Count Vittorio Cini.