When a 1944 bombing raid demolished the extraordinary 1448–57 frescoes by Andrea Mantegna in the Capella Overtari in the Chiesa degli Eremitani, the loss to art history was incalculable. After half a century of painstaking reconstruction, the shattered, humidity-damaged stories of Saints James and Christopher have been puzzled together, revealing action-packed compositions and extreme perspectives that make Mantegna’s saints look like superheroes.
Chiesa degli Eremitani
Padua
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
22.43 MILES
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22.46 MILES
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0.1 MILES
Padua's version of the Sistine Chapel, the Cappella degli Scrovegni houses one of Italy's great Renaissance masterpieces – a striking cycle of Giotto…
21.85 MILES
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Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute
22.17 MILES
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21.78 MILES
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22.02 MILES
After losing her father on the Titanic, heiress Peggy Guggenheim became one of the great collectors of the 20th century. Her palatial canalside home,…
Nearby Padua attractions
1. Musei Civici agli Eremitani
0.06 MILES
The ground floor of this monastery houses artefacts dating from Padua’s Roman and pre-Roman past, including some delicate glass, serviceable Roman…
0.1 MILES
Padua's version of the Sistine Chapel, the Cappella degli Scrovegni houses one of Italy's great Renaissance masterpieces – a striking cycle of Giotto…
0.12 MILES
The ground and 1st floors of the early-20th-century Palazzo Zuckermann are home to the Museo d’Arti Applicate e Decorative, with an eclectic assortment of…
4. Museo del Risorgimento e dell’Età Contemporanea
0.2 MILES
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…
0.28 MILES
This Renaissance palazzo (mansion) is the seat of Padua’s history-making university. Founded by renegade scholars from Bologna seeking greater…
0.31 MILES
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…
0.36 MILES
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…
0.38 MILES
Flanking the western side of elegant Piazza dei Signori, the Palazzo del Capitaniato became the seat of Venetian authority when Padua came under the…