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Its long history has been marked by periods of splendor alternating with periods of great decadence, despoilments and destruction, from which it has however risen again each time. Today it represents a large complex, rich in architectural and artistic testimonies that have stratified over time, a point of reference for the history and culture of the Padua area. The first period, up to the year 1407, is linked to the history and life of the Augustinian Monks, who reclaimed these lands, erecting embankments to harness the waters, building roads and making the countryside fertile and habitable. In 1407 the Augustinian Monks left Carceri decimated by famines due to plagues and invasions of locusts, very frequent in those periods. To revive the abbey of Carceri, Pope Gregory XII transferred the possession and care of the church and monastery to the Camaldolese Monks. After a short time it was elevated to Abbey and experienced a period of extraordinary splendor. The monks continued the work of reclaiming the land, expanded the structures of the Abbey which was equipped with four Cloisters, built a large room for the Library, a Guesthouse for pilgrims, and after a terrible fire, rebuilt and expanded the church which in 1686 was consecrated by San Gregorio Barbarigo. In 1690 Pope Alexander VIII suppressed the Abbey of Carceri and its territories were auctioned to finance the Republic of Venice in the war against the Turks. The entire monastic complex with its works of art, books, ceramics and thousands of cultivated fields were purchased by the Counts Carminati who transformed it into a farm. In 1950 the Carminati family donated what remained of the abbey complex to the parish of Carceri. Even today we can observe the testimonies of the various historical passages experienced by this famous complex: from the medieval era there remain a small cloister from 1150, the presbytery of the church with the bell tower from 1300, and the beautiful baptistery. From the Camaldolese period there remain the large cloister from the 16th century, the nave of the church and the choir, the guesthouse, part of the library. From the period in which it was owned by the Carminati family there remain the beautiful villa (now a rectory) whose main floor is decorated with frescoes and inlays. A part of the ancient monastery is dedicated to the Museum of Rural Civilization.