In the heart of Arquà Petrarca, in the Euganean Hills, stands the House of Petrarca, a place steeped in history and poetry where Francesco Petrarca spent the last years of his life. The building, of thirteenth-century origin, was given to the poet in 1369 by the lord of Padua Francesco I da Carrara, a friend and supporter of the man of letters. Petrarch, by then tired of his travels and marked by age, elected this peaceful corner as a refuge for himself and his family, personally overseeing the renovation work.
The house consists of two bodies of buildings arranged on different levels, joined by the poet himself to create a single residence: the upper floor, on the left side, became the main dwelling for Petrarch and his loved ones; the lower floor, reserved for servants, served as the main entrance and service room. The poet also took care of the layout of the interior rooms: he had new windows opened to illuminate the main room, which was transformed into a reception hall, while an intimate study was made for his studies. Surrounding the house was a garden at the front and a brolo at the back, a small vegetable garden to which Petrarch devoted great attention.
After his death on the night of July 18-19, 1374, the house changed hands several times but remained an intact symbol of the Petrarchan myth. In the 16th century, the Paduan nobleman Pietro Paolo Valdezocco transformed it into a proper museum dedicated to the poet, having the striking Renaissance loggia and external staircase still used today added. The rooms were frescoed with tempera paintings that still decorate the walls, depicting episodes from Petrarch’s most famous works: the Canzoniere, the Trionfi and Africa.
Inside, visitors can admire the studiolo in which Petrarch died, with the chair and bookcase traditionally attributed to the poet, as well as a curious relic: the mummy of his cat, kept in a niche, which fuels the legendary charm of this place.
In 1875 the last private owner, Cardinal Pietro Silvestri, donated the house to the City of Padua with the stipulation that it be kept as a museum and never given as a dwelling. Since then, the House of Petrarca has been a must-see destination for those visiting Arquà, a corner of suspended time where one can breathe in the poetry of the great humanist and soak in the beauty of the Euganean Hills that so reminded him of his beloved Tuscany.