Flood plates

If Legnago is no longer a walled city, it is because the motives that led to the complete destruction of the entire perimeter wall and the doors, some of which of considerable architectural value, were varied and complex.

In particular, after the unification of Veneto to Italy (1866) and the consequent loss of the military importance of the town, two events shocked the stronghold in 1868 and 1882: two large routes in the Adige.

The memory of those days remains entrusted today to the small plaques that indicate the level reached by the water in various points of the fortress, such as those encountered walking along via Roma at the height of n. number 1 and 16.

On October 7, 1868, at 2:00 pm, the water of the Adige entered, exceeding the level of the embankment, at the height of the old military observatory. The flood mainly affected the historic center and the water reached the first floors of the houses which suffered enormous damage as well as the food and furnishings. There were two deaths. The waters began to flow only eight days later, as the walls acted as a 'container basin'.

A few years later, on September 18, 1882, at 3:30 am, after three days of rain, the river broke north of the city, at the then existing Porta Boschetto. This second flood also affected the hamlets of Terranegra, S. Pietro, Vigo and Vangadizza creating serious damage to agricultural production. By extension - it also affected larger cities such as Verona - it was certainly the most serious route of the Adige river; in Legnago it caused a death and damage to homes, crops, furniture and foodstuffs. Later, national misfortune was declared.

Other plaques are located in Piazza Cinque Martiri, in the Duomo, outside the Archaeological Environmental Center on the side of via Repubblica and in via Frattini on the corner with via Bezzecca.