GETTING TO THE TRAIL:
From Padua, Montegrotto Terme or Torreglia, follow the signs to Abano Terme and, from there, to Monteortone. The starting point of the trail is adjacent to the Sanctuary.
Mt. Ortone (168 m) is made of rhyolite and situated in the northern part of the Euganean Hills, east of Tramonte; it rises up lonely between Mt. Rosso to the north and Colle San Daniele to the south. Locals also call it Monte Impero (Empire), because of wood works carried out there in the fascist period. A network of paths crosses the whole hill and leads to the summit.
FEATURES:
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes (Time is intended for a trained hiker, it could vary depending on the preparation and the interest for the itinerary features).
Difficulty level: easy
Length: 3.6 km
Difference in height: 150 m
Involved municipalities: Abano Terme, Teolo
Recommended period for the visit: throughout the year
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The most convenient starting point for parking is located at the Sanctuary. The walks begins on the right side of the church, where a sign also indicates the "Via Crucis". A steep but not difficult path offers a wonderful view on the religious site and on the whole plain of Abano Terme and Padua.
Following the ridge, the path traces suggestive tracts in the Mediterranean "pseudomacchia" with abundant presence of Erica arborea, corbezzolo, nespolo, ligustro and bagolaro, mixed in the summit section at roverella and the first chestnut trees. In the spring, the undergrowth is rich in flowering of viola canina, fiordaliso, silene ciondola and muscari azzurro. At the top you can seee the minute Ipocisto, a few centimeter parasite seedlings with yellow-orange flowers. In the oak forest you can see specimens of rovere and oak of Dalechamps. Chestnut dominates the northern side of the hill; there are also some examples of Austrian Black pine.
Along the way there are some panoramic points between the branches of the trees, particularly towards the north plain, the Venetian Prealpi and the dolomitic peaks.
In the rest of the area at the top of the hill is the cross symbol of the summit; from here you descend the trail along the west side, with a panoramic view on the Euganean Hills, alternating traces of falsoplanes to the other steep, with rock climbing ladders and handrails.
On this side, observe the old dry walls on the terraces once cultivated by the Friars. There are also testimonies of the Second World War: an anti-aircraft shelter and the ancient cloister where a German command was installed.
A curiosity at the margins of the trail is the presence of the "Tana dei libri", an initiative born to allow reading through the free exchange of texts.
After some bends, you can reach the road near the Scolo Rialto, turn to the south side until you get to the road near some houses, or continue until you reach the trail that rises from the Sanctuary, completing the ring.
From the access near the Rialto River, a convenient trail runs along the north side to the edge of an old quarry, now colonized by an interesting vegetation; water-restraining areas have been created by the material supply and here there are typical wetlands such as pulegio, centauro and graziella. Leisser’s Dandelion and Enula fall through the stones. From here, it is possible to return to Monteortone, or drifting up the trail, joining near the crest line with the trail from the Sanctuary.
Botanical Curiosities:
Among the rare and interesting appearances are: Carex distachya, Anogramma Ieptophylla, Verbascum phoeniceum, Pulicaria vulgaris, Mentha pulegium, Pilosella piloselloides subsp. Praealta, Cytinus hypocystis, Dryopteris cambrensis subsp. Insomnia, capricular fever, Platanthera bifolia, Listera ovata.
Between the slopes of the Colle we can encounter some mycological species considered rare for the euganeic area such as Suillus Iuteus, perhaps the finest fungus belonging to Genre Suillus; Hygrocybe psittacina and Hygrocybe helobia, small fungus with bright red-scarlet color.
The Sanctuary of Madonna della Salute of Monteortone.
Tradition wants Madonna to appear to soldier Pietro Falco in 1428, promising him the healing of old wounds of war on his leg, thanks to the water of the nearby source. The soldier healed and found in the stones a painting on wood depicting the Virgin with the Child Jesus, alongside San Rocco and Sant’Agostino; it was placed in a small oratory, incorporated into the present church. Devotion increased for the end of the plague that at the same time afflicted Padua: since then crowds of pilgrims visit this place. Fra’ Simone da Camerino, famous preacher, built the first church (consecrated in 1435), with an adjoining convent, and founded the Agostinians of the Blessed Virgin of Monteortone. Rebuilt and expanded following a fire, by Pietro Lombardo’s design, it now appears as an impressive three-nave temple with a Latin cross. To the right of the façade there is a small cave, now in masonry, accessible by a ladder and where the pilgrims can bathe with the warm water of the miraculous spring. In the chapels that close the two aisles, the works of Bissoni and Palma il Giovane are admired. The masterpiece of the church is the central apse, with an elaborate cruise ship overlooked by Jacopo da Montagnana. At the center of the altar inlaid with polychrome marbles of 1683. Through a deambulatory the pilgrim passes behind the altar ad sees the Marian image closely, still today in the center of processions and religious festivals. The church is completed by an elegant gothic bell tower with cusp roof. After various passages of forced property and closures, the sacred place was finally re-opened to worship at the beginning of the 19th century and in 1925 it became a parish church. The former monastery houses a large cloister with a well-centered center in the late 15th century. The building was a place of private care, then a Salesian Institute from 1937 to 1970; today it is “San Marco spa hotel”, run by the same religious family.
