PADUA, a province of Italy, in Venetia, called by the Italians Padora. having on the n. Treviso, on the e. Venice, on the s. Hoyle .° and the river Adige, on the w. Vicenza and Verona, on the s.e. the Adriatic sea or gulf of Venice; 805 sq.m.; pop. '72, 364.430. It is about 40 in. in length from n. to s., its greatest breadth 30 in., its narrowest portion 15 tidies. Its surface is generally level, rising in the s.w. into the volcanic district of the Euganean hills, which extend from the vicinity of Patine to Este, and are separated from the Alps by the Paduan plain. Near these hills are mineral springs of great value. It is drained by the rivers Brenta, Gorgone, Bacchialione, and other small streams flowing down the incline of the plain toward the lagoons of Venice. Its soil is very fertile, pro ducing wheat, corn, pulse, olive oil, wine, flax, hemp, chestnuts, honey, wool, and silk of superior quality, potatoes and the nutritious grass that furnishes excellent pasturage. Cattle, sheep, and poultry are raised, and grapes are cultivated. Very little care is taken of the vines which with the attention paid to their culture in some countries, would yield a crop equal to any. The temperature is equable. there is sufficiency of moisture through
the nights, plenty of direct rays of the sun during the month of August, everything favorable to the ripening of grapes that make sweet and highly flavored wine. It is con sidered the most fertile and the most densely populated of the Venetian provinces. It is intersected hy several railroads, and by irrigating and navigable canals, and is divided into the districts of Padua, Camposanpiero, Piore, Citadella, Monselice, Este, Montagne. and Conselve. The leading industries are the manufacture of leather, silk, woolen goods, and hots. The principal towns are Este, pop. 8.000. which gave its name to an illustri ous family; Montagnana. pop. 8.000, containing tanneries and hat factories; Abano, pop. 3 000. noted for its medicinal springs; Battaglia, also visited for its mineral waters, near which city is the village of Arque, where Petrarch died. Capital, Padua.