10 things to do and see in Padua

There is an Italian popular saying: “Venice is  beautiful, Padua is her sister”. The comparison with Venice should suggest you what you will find once there. The Scrovegni Chapel by Giotto, the most important series of paintings in the world, would be enough to justify a visit to Padua.

And speaking of art, the Civic Museums has a nice collections of Venetian painters (Tiepolo, Tintoretto, Veronese) and in the Baptistery of the Duomo is perfectly preserved another extraordinary series of frescoes, the one of Giusto de’ Menabuoi.

You cannot forget the presence of the “Saint”: Sant’Antonio (St. Anthony), whose secular presence in the city is found not only in the relics preserved in the Basilica, but also in many desserts with his name.

In many town squares, in particular Piazza delleErbe, dellaFrutta e deiSignori, you can meet people of Padua (or Paduan) with a Sprit. Then there is an extraordinary gastronomy, the University and many other points of interest. In this page we recommend you 10 things to do and see during a holiday or a weekend in Padua.

If you are looking for a hotel in Padua, we suggest you to choose among those offered by Booking.com. There are about 55 hotels with prices, pictures and comments of guests already stayed there. Go to Booking.com

1

The “simple construction” as defined by Giotto, hosts the most important cycle of frescoes in the world.

You can admire  the starry sky under which take place the episodes of the lives of Joachim and Anna (1-6), those of  Mary’s life (7-13 panels) and the episodes of the life and death of Christ.  Giotto completed it in  only two years. In 1303 the work was commissioned by Enrico Scrovegni and in 1305 he had already finished the work of art. Henry wanted to build the chapel for his father, ReginaldoScrovegni, a banker and money lender, so famous and feared to be placed in hell by Dante’s Divine Comedy. With theScrovegni Chapel, Giotto began the revolution of modern painting.

2

Sant’ Antonio is called “The Saint”. This makes us understand not only the lovebut also the importance of the Basilica that houses the relics of Sant’ Antonio.

Destination of a pilgrimage reaching its top with the procession of 13 June, the Cathedral  is worth a visit even for the presence of many masterpieces of Italian art. The first thing you will notice is the presence of different styles due to the changes over the centuries: the Romanesque façade, the Gothic apse  with seven chapels, Byzantine domes, and  Moorish bell towers. Inside you can admire the Chapel of Gattamelata and the one of San Giacomo frescoed in 1300 by Andriolo de Santi. Immediately after there is the Chapel of the Crucifixion and then the Sala del Capitolo, with a fragment of the Crucifixion attributed to Giotto. The “Treasury of the Basilica” with the relics of the Saint is at the center of the apse. On several display cases are visible the intact tongue and chin of Sant’Antonio . In the square in front of the basilica do not miss the equestrian monument of Gattamelata, Donatello’s bronze statue, an authentic revolution in art history: it was the first equestrian statue of big dimension without other architectural elements.

3

Since many  centuries, Piazza delleErbe, is the market place of Padua. In the past it had many different names: “Piazza dellaBiada”, “Piazza Del Vino”, as well as the steps of the imposing Palazzo Ragione were called “Scala delleErbe “because there were the lettuce sellers, or” Wine Scala “or” cale of manufactured irons.”

Actually also the names of the streets are about their commercial function: innkeepers, butchers, greengrocers. Behind Piazza delleErbe, there is the other commercial square of Padua: PiazzadellaFrutta where today are sold exclusively clothes.

The two squares are linked by the “Face of the Rope” or “Canton dellebusie”, a covered walkway called this way because here liars, failures, cheaters and debtors were hit on their back with a rope. The angle below the “Face of the Rope” is called the “Canton of busie” (corner of the lies) because here the traders held their negotiations.

4

In Piazza delle Erbe there is the  most impressive building ,a symbol of the city: Palazzo della Ragione (about  1208) the seat of the Tribunal during centuries, from which it takes its name.

The interior of the building is amazing: one open space 80 meters long and 27 wide, completely painted. It was more beautiful when there were frescoes by Giotto, destroyed by a fire in 1420. The cycle of paintings inside the palace is one of the largest in the world: zodiac elements, astrological, religious, animals, symbolize the activities of the city. The Hall houses the “Stone of Vituperio”, a black porphyry block on which insolvent debtors were forced to undress and beat three times on the buttocks before being forced to leave the city. In front of the Hall (next to the Town Hall) there is the “Palazzo delle Debite”, used as a prison to which people could access  directly from the Palazzo della Ragione with a passage already destroyed.

5

The Paduan are proud of Prato della Valle (88620 square meters). To understand how it is big, just think that it is formed by a central island, completely green, called Memmia Island in honor of the mayor who commissioned the work.

Around the island there is a canal of 1.5 km in circumference, surrounded by a double row of numbered statues (78) of famous people from the past. To reach the central island there are four cross-roads with bridges over the canal. Prato della Valle is set in a central place of the life of Padua: here there was a great Roman theatre and a circus for horse racing. Here  were martyred two of the four patrons of the city, Santa Giustina and San Daniele. In the Middle Ages were organized fairs, rides and public holidays. Today in Prato della Valle people go for a walk, ride bicycles, take the summer suntan or go out at night. After years of neglect, the Square has finally regained its centrality in the life of Padua.

6

In Piazza Eremitani, a few meters from the Scrovegni Chapel, there are the Civic Museums including the Archaeological Museum and the Museum of Medieval and Modern art.

The Archaeological museum collects finds of paleo-Venetian age, pre-Roman and Roman and an Egyptian section with the finds of the extraordinary Paduan explorer Giovanni Battista Belzoni. The Museum of Medieval and Modern Art collects works of the great masters of Italian painting in the period from 1300 to 1800. The highlight of the collection is the Crucifix by Giotto, who used to be located on the altar of the ScrovegniChapel. There are many Venetian painters: Boccaccio Boccaccini with the “Madonna and Child”, Veronese, Tintoretto with the “Feast in the House of Simon” and “The Crucifixion”, Giambattista Tiepolo with “St. Joseph with the Child”, “Madonna” and “Christ in the Garden.”

When: every day from 09:00 am to 7:00 pm
Never: all Mondays, Christmas, St. Stephen, New Year, 1 May
Ticket: € 10 entrance for museum. € 12 entrance also at the Scrovegni Chapel.

7

The Duomo dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta, was built in 1522 and designed by Michelangelo Buonarroti.

The façade with  three portals is incomplete while the interior is big and harmonious even if not particularly original. Much nicer is the Baptistery close to the Duomo with a cycle of frescoes considered the masterpiece of Giusto de‘ Menabuoi. As soon as you look up at the dome, you will feel observed by hundreds of eyes of angels and saints, and the severe look  of Christ at the center of the scene. On the other walls are represented “Stories of Genesis”, “Prophets and Evangelists” and “Stories of Christ and John the Baptist”.

8

Since 1222 in the Palazzo del Bo (named after an old inn of a butcher) used to  study Leon Battista Alberti, Galileo Galilei, Nicolaus Copernicus and many other famous personalities  all over the world.

There are two main heritages  of 800 years of culture: the Anatomical Theatre and the Chair of Galileo Galilei. The theatre, built by Hieronymus Fabricius in 1594, is a unique walnut theatre that allowed students to attend, from above, the autopsies on the bodies. In the Sala deiQuaranta, named for the forty portraits of international students, there is the wooden chair where Galileo taught mathematics and physics from 1592 to 1610.

9

The cuisine is based on vegetables that can be grown in home gardens and animals that are bred in the yard.

In many dishes  you will find the Paduan Hen and all her close relatives: the goose, capon, duck, guinea hen, the Polverara hen, the rooster and the most common dwarf chickens. Traditional dishes:the bigoli (thick and roughspaghetti) and the risotto: not just rice and peas, but also with asparagus or radicchio. Bigoliare often cooked with the “Oca in Onto”,  meat of goose with no bone, salt and preserved in its own fat, also used as a main dish. Still among the first courses: pasta and beans, soup with cabbage or other vegetables. The latter follows the traditional line: mixed boiled meat, ham goose breast, salami, the brawn, the sausage. Among the desserts: paduan fugassa (focaccia bread), the figassa (fig cake), the smegiassa (with raisins) and sbrisolona. Then there is a long pastry tradition linked to Sant’ Antonio with the Pan del Santo, the Dolce del Santo, Amarettoni and Merletti. Each meal begins with a very classic Spritz aperitif and ends with a grappa. For wine you just have to choose: you are in Veneto!

10

Padua is visited by different types of tourism in almost all periods of the year: there are pilgrims visiting the Basilica of Sant’ Antonio, students and professors of the University,  business people around the industrial area, and of course, tourists.

The amount of accommodation is not big, so it’s best to book in advance your stay. The average price of a 3-star hotel in the centerstarts from 70 €. During some events such as the Procession of Sant’ Antonio on June 13, it might be hard to find some rooms with a cheap price.

If you are looking for a hotel in Padua, we suggest you to choose among those offered by Booking.com. There are about 55 hotels with prices, pictures  and comments of guests already stayed there. Go to Booking.com