River Archaeological Research

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Over time, the Bacchiglione River has yielded an extraordinary quantity of finds that have made it possible to reconstruct, with rare continuity, the history of the territory from the earliest periods to the modern era. Underwater archaeological research, conducted by the Superintendency in collaboration with the University of Padua and several diving associations, has revealed a widespread heritage along the entire course of the river, particularly in the stretch between Cervarese Santa Croce and Selvazzano Dentro.

The earliest discoveries date back to the Bronze Age (2nd millennium BC), with remains of riverbank settlements, wooden structures, ceramics, tools, and weapons deposited in the water according to ritual practices. Even at this early stage, the river appears as a vital axis for settlement and as a symbolic as well as economic place. During the 1st millennium BC, with the presence of the ancient Veneti, evidence of activity increased: bronze situlae, ceramics, inscribed objects, and materials linked to domestic and funerary contexts indicate a dynamic territory culturally connected with the Paduan area.

In the Roman period the Bacchiglione became a true commercial infrastructure. Deposits of bricks, stone architectural elements, capitals, and column drums testify to the river transport of building materials destined for villas and productive installations in the ager patavinus. In the following centuries the river continued to play a central role: weapons, millstones, medieval and modern ceramics, and particularly the large early medieval monoxyl boats discovered at Selvazzano confirm a long continuity of use.

Many of these objects, recovered from the waters during archaeological investigations, are now preserved and displayed inside the Castle of San Martino. These discoveries have transformed the Bacchiglione into a direct historical source, capable of revealing not only objects but also concrete traces of the economic activities, ritual practices, and settlement patterns that shaped the landscape over the course of millennia.