Province of Padua

Province of Padua
Province
Palazzo Santo Stefano, the provincial seat
ISTAT		028

The province of Padua (Italian: provincia di Padova) is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Padua.

Geography

It has an area of 2,142 km², and a total population of 936,492 (2016) making it the most populated province of Veneto. There are 102 comuni in the province.

The territory is usually divided in the capital city, Padua, and its hinterland, formed by the nearby municipalities;^[2] the alta pianura ("higher plain"), north of the city; the bassa pianura ("lower plain"), south of the city, including the Saccisica in the south-east; and the Colli Euganei ("Euganei hills") south-west of the city. The Euganei hills are the only heights of the entire province, the other parts being totally plain.

History

The borders of the province are almost the same of the Medieval commune of Padua, with just some adjustment in the north-east. The territory was administered within these boundaries since the time of the Republic of Venice, but the modern province comes directly from the administrative divisions of Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia. The Diocese of Padua covers the most part of the province, out of a main part of alta pianura; instead it includes areas from the surrounding provinces.

Main sights

Climate

The most part of the province has a temperate sub-continental climate for the Köppen climate classification Cfa); only part of the Colli Euganei have a milder climate, because their southern slopes are above the thermal inversion line by winter, and exposed to the Sun all the year: which allows them to cultivate small olive trees.

The winter is usually moderately cold in the province, avoiding both warm and cold extremes; frost is very common at plain (below the thermal inversion line) with about 60–70 frost days a year, and temperatures usually do not get lower than −8/−12 °C in the plains during the year; but the all-times record for Padua is −19.2 °C by January 1985. The lower plain is slightly colder than the higher plain; snowfalls are highly variable from year to year, and one could see winters with almost no snow as years with frequent snowfalls (Padua has a century average of almost 20 cm/8 in during a year^[3]). Fog is a common phenomenon, even lasting all the day long, above all in the lower plain.

Summers are moderately hot and wet, warmer and less rainy in the lower plain, while the higher plain is often hit by thunderstorms; Padua has a record of +39.8 °C by August 2003, and usually gets above +36 °C in a year.

Spring and autumn are changeable seasons, which may experience wintry or sultry weather, heavy rainfalls or pleasant sunny days. The period between April and June is usually the wettest one in a year.^[4]

Extreme events may sometime hit the province. Flooding is a well-known phenomenon since ancient time, so that all the rivers and channels which cross the plain are embanked, and many channels were dug to avoid frequent flooding. The worst recent events were on 4 November 1966^[6] and on 2 November 2010.^[7]

Snowstorms, with some inch of fresh snow and strong Bora gusts, may happen during a normal winter, but rarely can be considered like a

a similar event never repeated.

Rarely, between May and September,

Paduan metropolitan area to end over Venice,^[11] an F2 (intensifying up to F4 going onto Venice^[12]) on the Fujita scale. Hailstorms are possible as well by summer, the worst recent event having been on 28 August 2003.^[13]

Economy

The province has a thriving economy, in the metropolitan area and the alta pianura, due to the presence of numerous enterprises of every kind, mainly industrial ones, but also from tertiary and primary economical sectors; these areas are also densely populated. The bassa pianura is instead a mainly rural area, thus being poorer and less populated. Tourism is developed above all in the spa towns, while both in Padua and in the other parts of the province it may be considered under-developed, aside from the arrival of large numbers of pilgrims in Padua.^{[citation needed]}

Transportation

Two

A4, the other being the A13; Padua has also a highway ring surrounding the city and connecting it to its hinterland. The main railways make almost the same paths of the motorways, going to Venice, Milan or Bologna; but there are minor railways going north (Castelfranco Veneto), north-west (Bassano del Grappa and Trento), south-west (Mantua) and south-east (Chioggia). The main roads follow all those paths.^{[citation needed}

]

Sport

Several sports are practiced in the province of Padua. The most popular is

horseback riding are often practiced, as well as martial arts.^{[citation needed}

]

Major club teams of the province include:

• Football:

-

Coppa Italia Serie C

;

-

A.S. Cittadella, Serie B

;

-

A.C. Este, Serie D

;

-

Luparense San Paolo F.C., Serie D

;

-

Monselice Calcio 1926, Eccellenza Veneto, played up to Serie C

;

-

Unione Sportiva Luparense, Promozione, played up to Serie C

;

-

A.S. Petrarca Calcio, Seconda Categoria, played up to Prima Divisione

;

- Ženský Padova, Serie B, women's football;

- no more existing:

Gamma 3 Padova won 2 times the championship

and 1 the Coppa Italia.

• Futsal:

-

Serie A1

, won 3 times the championship, 2 the Coppa Italia and 3 Supercoppa;

- Petrarca Calcio a 5, Serie B.

• Rugby union:

-

Top12, won 12 times the championship (last time 2011) and 2 times the Coppa Italia

;

- Roccia Rugby, Serie A;

- CUS Padova Rugby, Serie B;

- Valsugana Rugby, men's rugby Serie C, women's rugby Serie A;

- Ercole Monselice, Serie C;

- no more existing:

championship and 4 times the Coppa Italia

.

• Volleyball:

-

CEV Cup

;

- Silvolley Trebaseleghe, Serie B1;

- Megius Volley Club Padova, women's volleyball Serie C.

• Water Polo:

-

Plebiscito Padova

, men's Serie A2, women's Serie A1.

• Field Hockey:

- CUS Padova Hockey, men's Serie A1, women's Serie A2.

• Basketball:

-

Serie B Dilettanti

.

• American Football:

- Saints Padova, Campionato A2 LENAF.

• Baseball:

- Padova Baseball, Serie A federale. (www.padovabaseball.com )

Main municipalities

The main comuni by population are (As of 30 November 2013^[update]):

Comune	Population
Padua	210,629
Albignasego	24,909
Selvazzano Dentro	22,639
Vigonza	22,455
Cittadella	20,222
Abano Terme	19,850
Piove di Sacco	19,628
Monselice	17,645
Este	16,742
Cadoneghe	16,118
Rubano	15,977

Quality of life

According to the European Environment Agency, in 2023 it was the 367th most polluted city in Europe (out of a sample of 375 cities) and the second in Italy, after the province of Cremona.^[14]

See also

• Colli Euganei
• Padua
• Padua metropolitan area
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Padua
• Tangenziale di Padova

References

1. ^ Regions and Cities > Regional Statistics > Regional Economy > Regional Gross Domestic Product (Small regions TL3), OECD.Stats. Accessed on 16 November 2018.
2. ^ Paduan Metropolitan Conference
3. ^ Average snowfall on Padano-Veneta Plain 1961-2009
4. ^ Padua Meteorological Observatory
5. ^ "Padua historic weather averages". Intellicast. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
6. ^ Flooding in Veneto: an historical and geographical introduction
7. ^ Flooding in Veneto: as it happened
8. ^ Letter in ancient Paduan dialect dedicated to Galileo Galilei
9. ^ One thousand years of climate
10. ^ Climate: catastrophical events
11. ^ 11 September 1970: a tornado brings death and destruction to Venice Archived 23 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
12. ^ "Super-tornadoes in Italy". Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
13. ^ Extra-large hail in Padua Archived 20 July 2012 at archive.today
14. ^ "European city air quality viewer".

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Province of Padua.

• Provincia di Padova homepage (in Italian)
• Knowing Padua – June 2010

45°24′23″N 11°52′40″E / 45.40639°N 11.87778°E / 45.40639; 11.87778