Abano Terme

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Abano Terme
coat of arms
Abano Terme (Italy)
Abano Terme
Country Italy
region Veneto
province Padua  (PD)
Local name Abano Terme
Coordinates 45 ° 22 '  N , 11 ° 47'  E Coordinates: 45 ° 21 '33 "  N , 11 ° 47' 20"  E
height 14  m slm
surface 21 km²
Residents 20,274 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density 965 inhabitants / km²
Factions Feriole, Giarre, Monterosso, Monteortone
Post Code 35031
prefix 049
ISTAT number 028001
Popular name Aponensi
Patron saint San Lorenzo
Website Abano Terme
Campanile of the Sanctuary of Madonna della Salute in Monteortone di Abano
Ingresso alle cares Montirone ad Abano Terme, opera di Giuseppe Jappelli, veduta di tre quarti.jpg
Hotel Trieste & Victoria

Abano Terme , until 1930 Abano Bagni , is an Italian commune and spa in the Euganean Hills in the province of Padua , Veneto , with 20,274 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019). The Euganean Hills are famous for their thermal springs , a hyperthermal bromine-iodine-brine water that is slightly radioactive . They rise from the Euganean thermal basin at a temperature of up to 87 ° C and have been used for centuries for therapeutic purposes, especially against nervous disorders and rheumatism . Numerous specialized thermal hotels offer state-of-the-art fango , inhalation and wellness therapies .

geography

The city is located at the eastern foot of the Euganean Hills , about 10 km southwest of Padua , on the Padua – Bologna railway line .

The districts of Abano are next to the core town with the old center around the cathedral San Lorenzo and the spa area around the Mont 'Irone, the districts Feriole, Giarre, Monterosso and Monteortone.

Abano borders on the towns of Albignasego , Due Carrare , Maserà di Padova , Montegrotto Terme , Padua, Selvazzano Dentro , Teolo and Torreglia .

history

In the 9th century BC The Euganeans settled in the area of ​​today's Abano , who were later pushed into the nearby hills by the Venetians . These peoples already used the warm water and the mud, as is evident from finds. The Romans also knew the thermal springs as Fons Aponi (source of the god Aponus, who takes away pain) or Aquae Patavinae . The springs were used intensively and bathing facilities were installed, to which patients from all over Italy flocked. The Roman poet Martial counts them among the most popular bathing places in his time (1st century AD). In late antiquity they were described in detail by Claudian and in a letter from the Ostrogoth king Theodoric . In addition to healing purposes, they were also used for prophecy, by throwing lots into the basin of the spring, from which it was then prophesied. Nearby was also a temple of Geryon , where oracles were given. From an epigram by Martial it was sometimes concluded that Abano Terme was the birthplace of the Roman historian Titus Livius , but this is very unlikely; rather, he was born in nearby Patavium (now Padua).

In the 6th century the Lombards destroyed the Roman thermal baths. The place could only recover from it in the 12th century. Since 1405 Abano was under the rule of the Republic of Venice . In 1866 the place came to the Kingdom of Italy . In the same year, the Padua – Bologna railway line was opened, making Abano more accessible for the numerous guests from Europe. At that time there were 228 rooms in seven hotels. In 1911 a tram line from Padua to Abano was set up, which no longer exists today.

During the First World War , the city became the seat of the high command of the Italian armed forces . On November 3, 1918, the armistice of Villa Giusti was signed near . In 1927 Abano-Bagni was one of the first cities in Italy to be declared a thermal station. In 1930 the community received its current name. During the Second World War , the command of the German Air Force was stationed there in Italy. During the last months of the war, Abano Terme became a Città Ospedaliera ( hospital town ) under the protection of the International Committee of the Red Cross .

From 1947 onwards, numerous new hotels were built in order to be able to meet the increasing needs of the many guests who wanted to undergo thermal and mud treatments here. In 1973 the municipality was granted city rights. Around two million guests have been visiting the spa town every year since the 1990s. Today there are over 80 hotels of different categories in Abano, most of them with spa facilities for bathing and mud therapy.

Attractions

  • The Cathedral of San Lorenzo in the old town center was built in 1780 as a replacement for a church that used to stand there and was destroyed. The campanile is much older: the lower parts date from the 10th century, the upper part dates from 1314. The design of the trachyte facade matches the tower and dates from 1967.
  • Since 1996, next to the Cathedral Square, there has been a horizontal sundial on the newly created Piazza del Sole e della Pace (Square of the Sun and Peace), which is one of the largest in Europe with an area of ​​around 300 m 2 .
  • The Mont'Irone , a small elevation in the spa area, is the origin of the spa business: the first sources of thermal water and the first baths were here. Remnants of these systems can still be seen in a small park.
  • The pilgrimage church of Madonna della Salute in the Monteortone district, about 1 km from the spa area, was built between 1428 and 1435. It had to be closed several times in the 20th century due to dilapidation, but after thorough restoration it has been a valued venue for concerts since 1976. A special feature: thermal water constantly gushes from a small fountain bowl in the church. Thermal cures were carried out in the adjoining monastery until 2003.
  • About 4 kilometers west of Abano Terme is the Benedictine abbey Abbazia di Praglia, founded around 1080 .

Town twinning

Abano Terme maintains city partnerships with the following seaside resorts:

sons and daughters of the town

literature

Web links

Commons : Abano Terme  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Statistiche demografiche ISTAT. Monthly population statistics of the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica , as of December 31 of 2019.
  2. ↑ Pliny , Naturalis historia 2, 227 and 31, 61.
  3. ↑ Martial, Epigrams 6, 42, 4; Lucan , Pharsalia 7, 193; Silius Italicus , Punica 12, 218.
  4. ^ Claudian, Carmina minora 26; Cassiodorus , Variae 2, 39.
  5. ^ Suetonius , Tiberius 14.
  6. ^ Christian Hülsen : Aponus . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume II, 1, Stuttgart 1895, Col. 173.
  7. ↑ From October '43 to April '44 according to https://usacac.army.mil/CAC2/CGSC/CARL/nafziger/939GXLH.PDF
  8. ↑ Città di Abano Terme - Gemellaggi ( Italian , accessed November 25, 2019)