PADOVA - PADUA

Ancient University centre, Padova can boast of several evidences  of a glorious cultural and artistic past. Nowadays it is an important economical centre and the third town of the Veneto regarding population, and it displays the most attractive features of the Art  and History tourism, being in a Medieval atmosphere everybody can perceive on the squares and the paths of the historical centre. Moreover Padova is famous all over the world as the town of St. Antonio, the well-known Portuguese Franciscan, born in Lisbona, who lived in Padova for some years and here he died.

HISTORY AND THE MOST IMPORTANT MONUMENTS
Erected on the western side of the Venetian lagoon by the river Brenta, it was probably founded in 1184 before Christ, according to the legend, by the mythical Trojan hero Antenore, the guide of the inhabitants of the Veneto since the transmigration from the Minor Asia, whose tomb (though actually empty) can be visited in the centre, on the homonym Square.
During the Medieval period Padova succeeded in acquiring glamour and wealth so as to become one of the main centres of the Mark of Verona and Treviso, just thanks to its economically strategic position, being just in the centre of a communication junction between Venice, Este and Altino which converged to its river port. Developed in sectors round the units of St. Giustina, St. Eufemia and St. Sofia, and growing thick round the cathedral, the town of Padova embellished the moulding of its ancient town planning by means of the majesty of its buildings that represented the most representative social authorities and which, still nowadays, are important attractions for tourists. Among these we can indicate:

• the Palace of Reason, used in a typical symbiosis of functions such as the Court in the Hall and as a covered Market in the under hall. Regarded as one of the masterpieces of the European civil architecture, it was the siege of the Town Court from 1219 to the end of the Serenissima Republic (1797). In 1309 it was enlarged and altered outwardly just like we can see it nowadays, by architect and pipe fitter Giovanni degli Eremitani. Inside, the three large rooms into which the upper floor was divided were joined together to form ‘the largest hanging hall in the world’ which till 1420 could boast of the pictorial cycle realized by Giotto with the representation of a great astrological cycle culminating in the starlit sky that covered the vault. During that year a fire destroyed the work by Giotto completely. The new pictorial ornament, which still at present can be seen, made by Giovanni Miretto and Stefano da Ferrara, yet offers one of the rarest and most complete now existent astrological cycles. Next to the Palace of Reason there are two beautiful and characteristic Squares, called of the Hers and of Fruits. Beside the unsheltered Market in the centre of the Squares, which alone give colour and liveliness to themselves, there are dozens of shops rich in specialities that you can find underneath the Palace and all around the arcade.
• The Baptistery, a building of Roman origin, devoted to St. Giovanni Battista, became the mausoleum temple of the Carraresi family. The new destination, wanted by Fina Buzzacarini, namely the wife os Francesco di Carrara, led, in the fourteenth century, to the building of the big cupola supported by a high tambour and to the beginning of an amazing internal and external ornamental enterprise, realized by the court painter Giusto de’ Menabuoi. The cycle of the Stories of the New and Old Testament he painted has got a hundred masterly represented scenes.
• The Eremitani Church, located in a pleasant position between the gardens of the Arena, the cloister of the monastery and the quiet Square in front of it, was built in 1276 and completed in 1306 by friar Giovanni degli Eremitani, namely the author of the façade and of the original wooden, keel-shaped ceiling dominating the single and large façade. On the 11th March 1944 a tremendous air raid seriously damaged the building. Most of the frescoes, among which some by Mantegna and Vivarini, was destroyed. Luckily something of these artists escaped destruction and is worth visiting.
• St. Antonio Basilica: one of the most venerated sanctuaries in the Christian world, the Basilica of the ‘Saint’ was built in its majestic forms between 1232 and the middle of 1300 in order to welcome the mortal remains of the Portuguese religious man. When entering you are amazed by the vastness of the basilica and soon you can notice how the architecture, though still gothic in its elevation, is distinctly divided intotwo parts: the one of the nave and the aisles (where you are) and the one of the apse beyond the transept. Not only because the latter is all frescoed, but above all because of the different typology of the gothic style. The area of the aisles looks very spacious, marked, on both sides, by two quiet and solemn spans. Above these, both on the left and on the right, there is a gallery which accompanies the central nave and eventually it comprises the whole transept. There are several masterpieces that you will have the opportunity of admiring inside and in St. Giorgio Oratory located on the right of the Basilica, as well as in the School of the Saint (most of it frescoed by Tiziano).
• The Scrovegni Chapel: it was built by Enrico Scrovegni in order to redeem his family stained by the image of his father who had lent some money with interest. It has been recently restored bringing the magnificent famous cycle of frescoes made by Giotto to light.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beside a developing town in full swing, there was the foundation of the University in 1222, as a consequence of a student migration left from Bologna. One of the most reliable and lasting image developed: that of Padova as an excellent centre for studies and culture. During 1500 Galileo Galilei himself acquired the chair of Maths. Still at present it remain famous from an artistic point of view both for the anatomy room which has remained untouched like it was when Galileo taught there, and for the University botanical gardens, created during the sixteenth century, which is the first one in the world to be born in order to be open to public.

Between 1700 and 1800 other two important monuments representing this town were built: Prato della Valle and Caffè Pedrocchi:

• the first one is a majestic triangular square surrounded by a long line of Palaces above which the cupolas of St. Giustina Church stand out. In ancient times it was an uncultivated area subject to flooding, which was used for feasts and celebrations. In 1775 the superintendent of the Serenissima, Andrea Memmo, decided the reclamation of the area and entrusted such enterprise to Domenico Cerato, architecture lecturer at the University. By referring to the great tradition of the Veneto related to the harmonic equilibrium between nature and architecture, he thought of a large egg-shaped garden, surrounded by a canal and marked by a long series of statues devoted to renowned characters of the town.
• Caffè Pedrocchi has been famous since its inauguration (1831) for its neo-classical forms, by Francesco Jappelli. Thanks to its central position, not very far from Piazza delle Erbe, and to its closeness to the University, it soon became a meeting place for students, tradesmen, intellectuals, men of letters and politicians. Defined ‘Café with no doors’ because it was open also by night, it is currently a lively meeting and cultural place where five concerts per week are kept, not including Sundays and Mondays. We suggest you a stop for the aperitif, accompanied by gastronomic specialities every day. The chief speciality of the Café is the mint coffee.

PADOVA TODAY: THE MUSEUMS
The town also looks onto future, with a very intense economic and cultural living.
There are many music, artistic and theatre shows, in which, every year people can take part, which make Padova a lively centre. Moreover, the town has got a wide range of museums and collections, ranging from the traditional collections of works of art to unique collections in Italy.
The Civic Eremitani Museums: prepared in the beautiful restored rooms of the ex monastery of the Eremitani monks, they offer a wide view on the Roman Palaeovenetian history of the town, as well as an extraordinary collection of paintings made between the Thirteenth and the Nineteenth centuries by the great masters of the Italian painting, among whom Giotto, Guariento, Bellini, Tintoretto and many others.

The Applied and decorative Arts Museum and Bottacin Museum: in the historical Palace Zuckermann more than two thousand objects of   Applied and decorative Arts are displayed: they belong to the collections of the Medieval and Modern Art Museum.

The Diocese Museum: a wing of the Episcopal Palace of the Fifteenth century has got precious collections of sacred art, including some ancient manuscripts and incunabula, works of art and jewellery, holy vestments. The visit includes the impressive Hall of the Bishops and the evocative St. Maria degli Angeli Chapel.

The Risorgimento and Contemporary Age Museum: prepared in the rooms of the noble floor of Caffé Pedrocchi, it testifies events and protagonists of a century and a half of national history and of the history of Padova, from the fall of the Republic of the Veneto (1797) to the promulgation of the Republican Constitution (1948).

The Antoniano Museum: inaugurated in 1995 it shows the public the best of the collection of paintings, sculptures, holy vestments and  objects made for the Basilica and the Monastery of the Saint or being the result of legacies by religious men and devotees. Go to the description of the monument.

The Precinema Museum – Minici Zotti Collection: a particular exhibition of optical instruments and other collections devoted to the historical memory of archaeology of the Cinema and the Magic Lantern. Go to the description of the monument.

APERITIF AND GASTRONOMY
For the relevant presence of students Padova is also rich in premises in the latest fashion and taverns smacking of ancient times where you can taste the typical local aperitif: the spritz. In the several restaurants of the centre you can taste the local cooking. The age-old gastronomic tradition of Padova has got its origins in the natural products of the family garden, of the farmyard, of the vineyard, in the perch of salami, in the season fruits and, in some areas, in the spontaneous herbs. The recipe-book draws its historical origins in the times of the Obizzi, the Carraresi and the Contarini families, who succeeded in creating and increasing the value of delicious dishes, redeeming the naturalness of the ingredients. Nonetheless it is almost impossible to speak of homogeneity in the cooking of Padova, as the area of the province in its diversifications of lagoon, valleys, hills, rivers and plains, offers a great variety of ingredients to cooking, being different in each area. Few are the dishes handed out uniformly: among these, perhaps the most famous is the ‘boiled meat in Padova style’ in the version codified by the German Mattia Giegher in the Seventeenth century.

HOW TO GET HERE
Autostrada Venice – Milano (A4)
Exit Padova East if you arrive from Venice; Exit Padova Ovest if you arrive from Milan
Autostrada Bologna – Padova (A13)
Exit Padova South

By air
If you land in Venice:
Airport Marco Polo (Tessera), the nearest one.
From here you can reach Padova in the following ways:
By taxi – journey about 40-60 minutes;
By bus – there is a regular service leaving every half an hour from 6,00 a.m. to 11,00 p.m. on weekdays and with a different time table on Sundays and public holidays from the bus station of Padova;
By train – there is a bus service from the airport to the railway station in Mestre and from here a train for Padova. The journey is about 40 minutes.

If you land in Verona:
Airport Valerio Catullo (Villafranca Veronese)
From here you can use a bus service leading to the railway station of Verona.