Padua

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Overview

Though less than an hour from Venice, Padua (Padova in Italian) seems a world away with its medieval marketplaces, Fascist-era facades and hip student population. As a medieval city-state and home to Italy’s second-oldest university, Padua challenged both Venice and Verona for regional hegemony. A series of extraordinary fresco cycles recalls this golden age – including in Giotto’s blockbuster Cappella degli Scrovegni, Menabuoi’s heavenly gathering in the baptistry and Titian’s St Anthony in the Scoletta del Santo. For centuries, Padua and Verona fought for dominance over the Veneto plains. But Venice finally occupied Padua permanently in 1405.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Jesus Before Caiaphas by Italian Artist Giotto di Bondone, fresco

Cappella degli Scrovegni

Padua

Padua's version of the Sistine Chapel, the Cappella degli Scrovegni houses one of Italy's great Renaissance masterpieces – a striking cycle of Giotto…

Musme

Padua

Padua’s Museum of Medical History is a fascinating mash-up of historical artefacts and high-tech exhibits that detail the city’s outsized contribution to…

Palazzo Bo

Padua

This Renaissance palazzo (mansion) is the seat of Padua’s history-making university. Founded by renegade scholars from Bologna seeking greater…

Basilica di Sant’Antonio

Padua

A pilgrimage site and the burial place of St Anthony of Padua (1193–1231), this huge church was begun in 1232, its polyglot style incorporating rising…

Palazzo della Ragione

Padua

Ancient Padua can be glimpsed in elegant twin squares (one the fruit market, the other the vegetable market) separated by the triple-decker Gothic Palazzo…

Musei Civici agli Eremitani

Padua

The ground floor of this monastery houses artefacts dating from Padua’s Roman and pre-Roman past, including some delicate glass, serviceable Roman…

Orto Botanico

Padua

Planted in 1545 by Padua University’s medical faculty to study the medicinal properties of rare plants, Padua’s World Heritage–listed Orto Botanico is the…

Museo del Risorgimento e dell’Età Contemporanea

Padua

Since 1831, this neoclassical landmark has been a favourite of Stendhal and other pillars of Padua’s cafe society for the heart-poundingly powerful coffee…

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