Padua

Description

Situated on the eastern end of the Po Valley, legend has it that Padua was founded by the Trojan prince Antenor and historically inhabited by the Venetians since the 13^th century BC.
As Roman Patavium, it was one of the richest cities in the peninsula in the 1^st century AD.  Its modern fame derives from the late Middle Ages, when governance by the Da Carrara family in the 14^th-15^th centuries made it one of the great cities of the Renaissance.
Monumental highlights include the Basilica of Sant'Antonio (referred to locally as "il santo") built between the mid-13^th and early 14^th centuries in Romanesque style with five Byzantine domes, and dedicated to Anthony, the second most important saint of the Franciscan order; the Church of the Eremitani—and the famous Ovetari chapel with frescoes by Andrea Mantegna, partially destroyed by WWII bombing on March 11, 1944 – and the secular Palazzo della Ragione in piazza delle Erbe, former seat of the city's law courts and covered market.
In the early 14^th century, Enrico Scrovegni commissioned Giotto di Bondone to fresco the Arena or Scrovegni chapel. The great painter, assisted by a prosperous workshop, created one of the greatest masterpieces in the history of art, covering the single-hall space with Stories from the Life of Mary and Christ, monochromes of Vices and Virtues, and a celebrated Last Judgement on the counter façade.
The city's iconic landmarks include the cathedral and Romanesque baptistery with splendid frescoes by Giusto de' Menabuoi; rectangular piazza dei Signori, with its clock tower, Church of San Clemente and the loggia del Consiglio e della Gran Guardia; Prato della Valle, the square transformed by Andrea Memmo into an urban masterpiece in the late 18^th century; and 19^th-century Caffè Pedrocchi, in neoclassical and neo-Gothic style.

Position on map