Borgo San Pietro (also known historically as the Trastevere District in the 19th and 20th centuries) is a historic district within the old town of Vicenza, Italy. Located east of the Bacchiglione River, it developed along ancient Roman roads extending from the city centre. The district occupies the area between the river and the 14th-century Scaliger fortifications.
History Origin of the names The district has been known by several names throughout its history:
Borgo: This term typically refers to a settlement that grew outside a city's walls.Borgo in the Treccani Vocabulary San Pietro fit this description until 1370, when the Scaliger family constructed a second set of walls enclosing the district. Subsequently, new borghi (such as Santa Lucia, Padova, and Casale) developed outside this new perimeter, and San Pietro became an integral neighbourhood within the city. San Pietro: This name became common in the Early Middle Ages due to the district's proximity to the Benedictine nuns' monastery, which was the most significant landmark in the area at the time. Trastevere: Adopted around 1891, this name coincided with the renaming of the main square from Piazza degli Angeli to Piazza XX Settembre (commemorating the Breach of Porta Pia on September 20, 1870). The name drew a parallel with Rome's Trastevere district, highlighting Borgo San Pietro's status as Vicenza's most populous and working-class neighbourhood. ''Republica de san Zulian'': Used colloquially in the early 20th century, this term reflected the district's perceived semi-autonomous character, particularly in relation to the support network for residents of the San Giuliano Hospice (later the Salvi Institute)..
Ancient era In 148 BCE, the Romans built the Via Postumia connecting Genoa to Aquileia. This major road passed through the settlement of Vicenza, then inhabited by the Veneti, who were Roman allies. To facilitate the route, the Romans constructed a stone bridge over the Astico River (where the Bacchiglione flows today). Originally built with three arches and oriented differently from the modern bridge, a fourth arch was added in 1570 based on a design by Palladio.The design is published in The Four Books of Architecture, Book III, Chapter XV, p. 224 in the original;
Beyond the bridge, another Roman road branched off from the main Via Postumia (which headed northeast), leading towards Padova. It is highly probable that residential clusters formed along these roads—later known as ''Contrà'' Santa Lucia and ''Contrà della Fontana Coperta''—even during Roman times, creating the nucleus of the future borgo.
Middle Ages Around the 9th–10th centuries, a ring of early medieval walls was constructed around Vicenza's compact urban core. These walls included the San Pietro gate,The last remnants of this gate were lost during the bridge’s reconstruction in the late 19th century. which provided access to the areas across the river. This eastern district was known in older records as Porsampiero, as documented by the historian Silvestro Castellini.Silvestro Castellini, Storia della città di Vicenza ... sino all'anno 1630, 1822 By this period, the borgo had taken shape and was organized into distinct contrade (neighbourhoods or streets), which are documented in Vicenza’s 1208 Building Decree..
The Borgo of San Vito and Contrada of Santa Lucia Developing along the ancient Via Postumia route, the Borgo of San Vito emerged during this period. It was named after the Benedictine abbey of San Vito, built on the site now occupied by the Non-Catholic Cemetery. Situated outside the city walls, the abbey church possessed a baptismal font and served a large territory extending as far as the parish of Santa Maria in Bolzano Vicentino.
In 1206, the abbey was granted to Camaldolese monks. In 1314, they acquired a building closer to the city and replaced the original abbey church with an oratory dedicated to Saint Lucy.. This relocation spurred further growth in the surrounding borgo. When the Scaliger walls were built in 1370, the wealthier and more densely populated inner section of this area was incorporated into the city proper. The outer section, remaining outside the new walls, became known as the Borgo of Santa Lucia. The inner part, now within the walls, retained the name ''Contrà de Santa Lùssia'' (Contrada of Santa Lucia)..
The Contrada of San Pietro
Before the 10th century, the Benedictine Monastery of San Pietro was established near the left bank of the Bacchiglione. Initially housing monks, it later became a convent for nuns.Scholars differ on the exact date it became a female monastery. Mantese suggests it was by the early 11th century, while others place it a few decades later. The monastery faced significant hardships during the Early Middle Ages, likely suffering damage during Hungarian raids in the early 10th century. A ''privilegium'' (charter) issued by Bishop Rodolfo in 977 described the monastery as “almost annihilated and devoid of monastic worship or divine service.” After 1000 CE, the bishops of Vicenza granted the nuns substantial feudal holdings around the monastery and throughout the Vicentine territory, bolstering its importance.
The monastery held jurisdiction over several smaller churches within Borgo San Pietro. These included San Vitale, located near the monastery square (where the Trento Institute was later built in the 19th century),San Vitale likely disappeared by the 16th century, as it is absent from the 1580 Pianta Angelica map, although its bell tower appears in Monticolo’s 1611 map. Aristide Dani, in and Sant'Andrea, situated near the Corte dei Roda.The nuns restored Sant'Andrea in 1536; it was demolished during the Napoleonic suppression. ; Documents from 1129 and 1166 record the abbess of San Pietro leasing land and houses near Sant'Andrea to local residents. From the 13th to the 15th centuries, Sant'Andrea functioned as a parish church, served by a secular priest appointed by the abbess, confirming the existence of a distinct ''contrada'' (neighbourhood) around it.
By the early 15th century, Sant'Andrea had fallen into disuse and was in a dilapidated state, partly due to frequent flooding from the Bacchiglione..
The Borgo of Porta Padova This borgo developed along one of the two main roads leading east out of the city through the Porsampiero gate and certainly existed in the Early Middle Ages. In 1270, the Benedictine nuns of San Pietro leased land here for the establishment of a hospice “for the benefit of the poor,” known as ''Chà di Dio''. Its associated church, dedicated to Saint Julian the Hospitaller, is documented by 1319. The hospice provided shelter for beggars and pilgrims travelling the route between Vicenza and Padua.
During this period, the San Giuliano hospice was one of the most important charitable institutions in the city. Records show that in 1295, private citizens made donations to support its work in exchange for spiritual benefits.. When the Scaliger walls were constructed in 1370, this area was left outside the new fortifications,. and the hospice ceased operations by the mid-15th century.
However, services continued to be held in the Church of San Giuliano, which received furnishings and underwent restorations during this time. After the nuns relinquished control, the church became municipal property, administratively linked to the Church of San Vincenzo, and took on pastoral responsibilities for the surrounding area. It also became a traditional location for formal welcomes when new bishops—often Venetians in the 15th century—made their official entry into the Vicentine diocese..
This indicates that although the 1370 walls separated the inner ''contrada'' from the outer borgo, strong connections remained between them, facilitated by the Porta Padova gate, which under Venetian rule primarily functioned as a customs checkpoint rather than a strict defensive barrier.
The Borgo of the Roblandine (or San Domenico) Evidence for the existence of this borgo in the 14th century comes from the 1377 will of Guglielmo Bolognini, which mentions it as one of the "''burgorum Sancti Petri Civitatis Vincentie''".Recorded in Storia del Monastero di S. Francesco di Vicenza, 1789, p. 111, by Gaetano Girolamo Maccà The name refers to the settlement that grew around the convent of San Domenico, established circa 1264 by Dominican nuns. The convent complex, including the church and cloisters, underwent extensive rebuilding from the 15th century onwards. Today, these buildings house the Arrigo Pedrollo Conservatory of Music.
The Scaliger Walls
During the 12th and 13th centuries, Vicenza experienced significant growth and prosperity. The eastern sector across the Bacchiglione, comprising several small borghi (identified by Castellini as San Vito, Lisiera, Roblandine, Camisano, and San Pietro),Silvestro Castellini, Storia della città di Vicenza ... sino all'anno 1630, citing documents from the San Pietro Monastery archive had become densely populated by the early 14th century. This expansion led to the formation of distinct contrade along the five main roads radiating from the bridge then known as Ponte degli Angeli (formerly Porsampiero).
According to Castellini, this collection of eastern borghi was protected by a defensive moat from at least 1182. Following their defeat by a Veneto-Florentine coalition in 1344, the Scaliger rulers reinforced these defences by adding ramparts—raised earthen embankments. Access was restricted to five gates (or controlled openings), likely guarded by wooden watchtowers known as ''battifredi''., These gates, listed counterclockwise starting from the north, were: San Vito (or Santa Lucia), leading towards the San Vito area; Lisiera; Roblandine, at the end of modern-day Contrà San Domenico; Camisano (also known as Torricelle or Porta Padova), facing Padova; and Camarzo,The name Camarzo shares the same root as Campo Marzo, suggesting a formerly marshy area. located near the San Pietro Monastery.
Around 1370, facing increasing tensions between the Republic of Venice and Francesco I da Carrara, Lord of Padua, Cansignorio della Scala decided to further strengthen Vicenza's defences to prevent the kind of devastation experienced during earlier conflicts with Padua. He ordered the construction of stone walls to enclose the entire Borgo San Pietro area, which had previously relied only on the moat and rampart. The number of gates was reduced to three—Santa Lucia, Padova, and Camarzo—while the Roblandine and Lisiera gates were sealed. Castellini noted this change: “Instead of one gate at the Ponte degli Angeli, he made three…”As quoted by from Castellini Two centuries later, in 1560, the nuns of San Pietro obtained permission to permanently close the Camarzo gate..
The new wall began on the left bank of the Bacchiglione, a short distance from the Ponte degli Angeli. It followed the outer edge of what became Contrà Torretti (named after the small towers, ''torrette'', likely incorporated into the wall). and Contrà Mure Araceli, where the Santa Lucia gate was situated. The wall continued along the present-day streets of Mure Santa Lucia, Mure San Domenico, and Mure Porta Padova. The Porta Padova gate stood where Contrà Porta Padova (now truncated) met Mure Porta Padova; modest remains of the gate structure are still visible near the intersection with Viale Margherita. The wall line, much of which is still traceable, continued towards Contrà San Pietro, eventually rejoining the Bacchiglione River (which at that time flowed further east, roughly parallel to today's Via Nazario Sauro) near the former location of the Camarzo gate. The total length of this eastern wall circuit was approximately 1,220 meters.
Early modern period