The town's name, for the first part, comes from the Latin "Arquatum" (curved in an arc, in reference to the hills that surround it), in the second, honors the famous Tuscan poet, who lived and was buried here. Municipality in the province of Padua, located on hills Euganei, on the slopes of Monti Ventolone and Piccolo, the main centre, which retains a medieval atmosphere, features streets that seem to live in the past. The town is built around two main squares, and in the lower one is located the tomb of Petrarca. Arquà is also famous for its production of excellent olive oil.
Traces from the Bronze Age evidence that the area was inhabited since Prehistoric times and later colonized by the Eneti. The discovery of important findings testify the presence of a large settlement in Roman times and documented sources attest the existence in the area, around year 1000, of a castle, destroyed during the clashes between the troops of the Della Scala and the Carrara. In the Middle Ages the center was granted with a certain authority, becoming the first municipality in the area and, from the XIV until the late XVIII century, it was the capital of a Vicariate with jurisdiction on a vast area. It submitted the domain of Padua, from 1405 until the advent of Napoleon, till it was incorporated between the territories that belonged to Venice.

Attractions:
- the Parish Church of Santa Maria Assunta, built shortly after year 1000, has a single nave plan and features a simple gable roof and a façade embellished by three windows, one rose and two with pointed arches. Renovated several times over the centuries, the interior is decorated with a cycle of frescoes of the XIV and XV centuries. It also preserves a valuable painting by Palma the Younger depicting the Ascension, an XVIII century altar of the artist Rizzi and two XVI century altars;
- the XII century Oratory of the Trinity, enlarged in the XIV century. It features a simple structure in Romanesque style, a single nave plan with a gabled roof and loggia. It houses an altarpiece by Palma the Younger, a Romanesque stoop, a valuable painting of the Pellizzari, a XVII century painting, a XVII century wooden altar and a contemporary altarpiece. The structure is flanked by a XII century Bell Tower with a square base and has been renovated several times over the centuries;
- the poet's tomb, built in the late XIV century in red marble;
- the XIII century Fountain entitled to Petrarca;
- the XIV century house of Petrarca;
- the XV century Palazzo Contarini;
- the Loggia dei Vicari;
- the medieval village.