Abbazia di Praglia

History

Founded between the eleventh and twelfth centuries at the foot of the Euganean Hills, it was entirely rebuilt in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in its present Renaissance forms, with four cloisters and a majestic basilica. Suppressed by Napoleon and then by the Kingdom of Italy, it has lived again since 1904 with a Benedictine community that is still numerous and industrious. It is famous for its antique book restoration workshop, among the most prestigious in Italy, for its monumental library and for the page Fogazzaro devoted to it in "Piccolo mondo moderno".

Visiting

What to see

Basilica of Santa Maria dell'Assunta. Four cloisters (enclosure, botanical, hanging, rustic). Monumental Library (100,000 volumes). Ancient manuscript restoration workshop. Community of 40+ monks.

Surroundings

Euganean Hills (Regional Park). Abano and Montegrotto thermal baths (4 km). Hill cycling tourism. Euganean Hills wines. Risotto, radicchio.

Visitor information

Guided visits every half hour from 3:30pm to 5:30pm, no booking needed. Also suspended on holidays beyond Monday: Christmas Eve and Day, New Year's Day, Ash Wednesday, Holy Thursday to Easter, 11 July, 15 August.

Contacts

+39 049 9999322 · praglia.it · foresteria@praglia.it

Hospitality and where to sleep

Guesthouse available

Monastic guesthouse for spiritual stays: book by phone at least 10 days ahead, then confirm by email.

Beds and prices

The internal guesthouse offers religious hospitality only: it welcomes those who wish to stay a few days in prayer and retreat sharing the community's rhythm, with telephone booking at least ten days ahead and confirmation by email. For a simple bike-traveller's overnight, wide choice of hotels and B&Bs in Abano Terme and Teolo (mid-range, many bike-friendly spa-area properties).

Services

Water at the gatehouse, shop of the monks' products (herbal remedies, cosmetics, honey, wines from the abbey's cellar) with electronic payments, conference centre. For full meals, trattorias and restaurants within a few kilometres between Praglia, Teolo and Abano. Meals in the monastery only for guesthouse guests.

Places to stay nearby (within 15 km)

• Foresteria esterna dell'Abbazia di Pragliaguesthouse
  Teolo (PD), Via Abbazia di Praglia 16 · 0.1 km as the crow flies

  Price:

  Donation / agreed rate; book by phone at least 10 days ahead

  Open:

  Year-round, booking required (tel. 049 9999322, foresteria@praglia.it)

  Facilities:

  External guesthouse with 20 beds, kitchen, dining/meeting room and large outdoor grounds (suited to groups and scouts); internal guesthouse for spiritual retreats

  Source:

  https://praglia.it/foresteria-2/

  The Benedictine abbey at the foot of the Euganean Hills, hub of three stages (arrival from Bassano, arrival on the Treviso variant, departure towards Ferrara). Religious hospitality, not a hotel.

Getting there by bike

The abbey stands at the foot of Monte Lonzina, on the Euganean Hills cycle ring: you arrive from Padua or from Abano/Teolo on flat roads, with only a short final ramp up to the monastery forecourt. Large car park in front of the gatehouse where you can lean the bike. Guided tours require no booking and have no ticket: a donation towards the restorations is suggested (from 5 € up, with a photographic guide as a gift). Closed Mondays and on the main holidays.

The Colli Euganei cycle loop arrives almost flat at Praglia's gatehouse. Visits leave every half hour in the afternoon, no booking needed. A free-will donation is enough to enter, no real ticket office.

Ample parking in front of the gatehouse. Water at the gatehouse; trattorias and restaurants within a few kilometres between Praglia, Teolo and Abano.

Map and stages