"G. Valle, Pianta di Padova (1784), particolare del complesso di Ca' Lando, confinante con Santa Caterina, BCPd, RIP.VII.984

The commemorative plaque of the founder at the entrance of the monumental complex

In the thirties of the sixteenth century (1533-1534) Ca' Lando, or Corte Lando (later Lando-Correr from the eighteenth century), was built at the behest of the Venetian patrician Marco Lando and his executor Pietro Lando: the chosen site was a plot of land bordering the common road (now Via Gabelli), the appurtenances of the church of Santa Caterina (remember that the monastery was built a century later) and those of the nearby monastery of San Mattia.

Views of Ca' Lando (photo by U. Fadini, Comitato Mura di Padova)

The housing unit n. XII

The complex was characterised by a common courtyard overlooked by the church of Saints Marco, Vitale and Elisabetta (known as San Marco of Ca' Lando) at the opposite end of the entrance and, along the sides, 12 small houses, or "domunculas" as they were called in the documents, consisting of a bedroom, kitchen, portico, vegetable garden and warehouse. The small houses were intended, free of charge, for as many families of limited economic possibilities, which would have been provided, moreover, with 40 ducats a year thanks to the munificence of the founder and the income from his properties in Padova.

Rightly the foundation of Ca' Lando was defined as the first example of social housing in Padova, as well as a project of community life, «inspired by evangelical "charity" and characterised by democratic forms of self-government» (Lironi 1990, p. 116).

For more information: Comitato Mura di Padova (Padova Walls Committee).