This enormous basilica’s imposing interior is richly frescoed and decorated, filled with a number of tombs, works of art, and inlaid checkerboard marble flooring. It’s all there to honor one man, Padua’s patron Saint Anthony (Sant’Antonio). Simply and commonly referred to as “il Santo,” Anthony was born in Lisbon in 1195 and died just outside of Padua in 1231. Work began on the church almost immediately but was not completed until 1307. Its eight domes bring to mind the Byzantine influence found in Venice’s St. Mark’s Basilica that predates Padua’s Romanesque-Gothic construction by more than 2 centuries. A pair of octagonal, minaret-like bell towers enhance its Eastern appearance. The seven bronze statues and towering central Crucifixion (1444–48) that adorn the main altar are by Donatello and are the basilica’s artistic highlight. The faithful could care less about the architecture and art; they flock here year-round to caress the tomb holding the saint’s body (off the left aisle) and pray for his help in finding what they’ve lost. The tomb is always covered with flowers, photographs, and handwritten personal petitions left by devout pilgrims from every corner of the globe whose numbers have remained constant over the centuries. The saint is the patron of lost or mislaid objects, and the faithful who flock here look for everything from lost love to lost health. The series of nine bronze bas-reliefs of scenes from the saint’s life are some of the finest works by 16th-century northern Italian sculptors. In his lifetime, St. Anthony was known for his eloquent preaching, so interpret as you will the saint’s perfectly (some say miraculously) preserved tongue, vocal chords, and jawbone on display in the Cappella del Tesoro in the back of the church directly behind the main altar. These treasured relics are carried through town in a traditional procession every June 13 to celebrate the feast day of il Santo. You’ll also see one of the original tattered tunics of il Santo dating from 1231. Standing out amid the smattering of stalls across the large piazza in front of the basilica selling St. Anthony–emblazoned everything, is Donatello’s famous Gattamelata equestrian statue. The first of its size to be cast in Italy since Roman antiquity, it is important for its detail, proportion, and powerful contrast between rider (the inconsequential Venetian condottiere Erasmo da Narni, nicknamed the “Spotted Cat”) and horse. It was to have a seminal effect on Renaissance sculpture and casting and restore the lost art of equestrian statuary.
Piazza d. Santo (east of Prato d. Valle)
phone: 049-878-9722
Free admission
Summer daily 6:20am–7:45pm
winter daily 6:20am–7pm
Bus: 3, 8, 12, 18, 32, or 43

This is the one uncontested must-see during your stay in Padua, so be prepared for lengthy lines in high season, a wait made even longer by the small numbers of controlled groups (25 people maximum) allowed to enter the chapel at any one time (scandalously brief 15-min. visits are the limit often imposed during peak periods; check when buying your ticket so you can plan accordingly). Once inside, art lovers armed with binoculars behold the scene in awe—the recently renovated cycle of vibrant frescoes by Giotto that revolutionized 14th-century painting is still considered among the most important early Renaissance art. While some experts have questioned whether the famed frescoes in Assisi are entirely by Giotto, here there is no equivocation: These are the master’s works. A brilliant cobalt blue is the dominant color; the illustrations are in that typical easy-to-understand medieval comic-strip format, but here they take on an unprecedented degree of realism and emotion. This cycle is even larger, more complete, and better preserved than the famed St. Francis frescoes in Assisi. Giotto worked from 1303 to 1306 to completely cover the ceiling and walls with 38 scenes illustrating the lives of the Virgin and of Christ from floor to ceiling. With your back to the front door, the three bands that cover the walls are: top right, Life of Joachim; top left, Life of the Virgin; right center, The Childhood of Christ; left center, Christ’s Public Life; right bottom, The Passion of Christ (the third panel of Judas kissing Christ is the best known of the entire cycle); left bottom, Christ’s Death and Resurrection. Above the entrance is the fresco of the Last Judgment: Christ, as judge, sits in the center, surrounded by the angels and apostles. Below him, to the right, are the blessed, while to the left, Giotto created a terrible hell in which devils and humans are condemned to eternal punishment.
Piazza Eremitani 8 (off Corso Garibaldi)
tel.049-201-0020 for required reservations (call center lines open Mon–Fri 9am–7pm, Sat 9am–1pm)
For reservations: musei.comune@padovanet.it
Admission (joint ticket with the Museo Eremitani; add 1€ per ticket to reservations made online) 11€ adults (includes a 1€ reservation fee), 4€ ages 6–17, free for children under 6 (although admission still requires a reservation); free with purchase of Padova- Card
Daily 9am–7pm; until 9:30pm in summer.
Entrance through the Museo Eremitani.
Bus: 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 22, or 42.
www.cappelladegliscrovegni.it
www.comune.padova.it/museicivici

Padua’s worst tragedy was the complete destruction of this church by Nazi bombings in 1944; some art historians consider it the country’s greatest artistic wartime loss. It has been remarkably restored to its original early-13th-century Romanesque style, but the magnificent cycles of frescoes by the 23-year-old Andrea Mantegna could not be salvaged, except for a corner of the Ovetari Chapel on the right of the chancel. Here you’ll find enough fragments left in the rubble of the frescoes he painted from 1454 to 1457 to understand the loss of what was considered one of the great artistic treasures of Italy. Mantegna was born in Padua (1431–1506) and studied under the Florentine master Donatello, who lived here while completing his commissions for the Basilica di Sant’Antonio as well as the famous equestrian statue that now stands in the piazza before it. Classical music concerts occasionally are held in the church.
Piazza Eremitani (off Corso Garibaldi)
tel. 049-875-6410 or 049-876-1855.
Free admission. Daily 8:30am– 12:30pm and 4:30–7pm. Bus: 3, 8, 10, 12, 32, or 42

To the west of the Piazza dei Signori in Padova stands the cathedral, a High Renaissance building (1552-77) with an unfinished facade. To the right of the cathedral the elegant brick-built Baptistery (13th century) has interesting frescoes by Giusto de' Menabuoi (c. 1375).

Begun in 1075 and dedicated to St. John the Baptist, the Baptistery is a squared-shaped Romanesque building located at the North-East corner of the Cathedral of Padua. It contains an extensive series of frescoes painted by Giusto de' Menabuoi in 1375-78, covering biblical highlights from the Creation of the World to the Resurrection of Jesus. Above the four pillars supporting the main cupola are large frescoes depicting the Four Evangelists, seated and writing the Gospels, along with smaller medallions containing their traditional symbols. Around the small altar in the apse are 43 frescoes depicting various scenes from the Book of Revelation.

Galileo’s battered desk and podium where he taught from 1592 to 1610 is still on display in Italy’s second-oldest university (after Bologna). His name joins a legendary honor roll of students and professors—Petrarch, Dante, the poet Tasso, Copernicus—who came here from all over Europe. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 and grew to become one of the most famous and ambitious learning centers in Europe, reaching its zenith in the 16th and 17th centuries. Today, a number of buildingsare spread about town, but the Palazzo del Bo (named after the “Bo” or Ox Inn— a favorite student hangout that stood on this spot in the 15th century) is the university’s main seat. Ongoing restoration keeps most of it off-limits, but the perfectly preserved Teatro Anatomico is one of the few sites regularly open to visitors. Built in 1594, it was here that William Harvey most probably developed his theory of the circulation of blood while earning his degree in 1602.
Via VIII Febbraio (south of Piazza Cavour)
tel. 049-827-5111
Admission 3€ by guided tour only, some in English. Ask at tourist office for status of an ongoing renovation and visitor hours

Prato della Valle is a 90,000 square meter elliptical square in Padova, Italy. It is the largest square in Padova and is believed to be the second largest in Europe after the Red Square in Moscow. The square today is a monumental space of extraordinary visual impact, with a green island at the center, l'Isola Memmia, surrounded by a small canal bordered by two rings of statues.
Among the numerous statues in the square, one represents Andrea Memmo, the patrician Venetian known as the provider of Padova. In 1775 Memmo decided to reclaim and restructure the entire area which, at that time, was nothing but an amorphous swampland.
The entire project, which was never fully completed, is represented in a famous copper engraving by Francesco Piranesi from 1785. It seems that Memmo had commissioned this and other representations and kept them on exhibition at the Palazzo Venezia, the headquarters of the Embassy of the Republic of Rome. He did this in order to entice other important figures into financing the construction of statues to decorate the square. The project aproved by Domenico Cerato, professor of architecture at Vicenza and Padova.
The preliminary excavations done to install the plumbing system and reclaim the area were directed by Simone Stratico. These excavations brought to light the remains of an ancient Roman theater. These findings conferred a sense of historical dignity to the initiative, and transformed it into a project of reclamaton for its natural public use.
Andrea Memmo resided at Palazzo Bessarione, constructed in the 15th century and located in Prato della Valle at an angle with the avenue Umberto I. Today, the monumental palazzo, property of the city of Padova, hosts the Museum of Precinema Minici Zotti collection.
The following are of particular interest: the benedictine Basilica of Santa Giustina, the neoclassical style Loggia Amulea, and the many interesting palazzi constructed between the 14th and the 18th centuries which surround the square.
Prato della Valle has, from its beginning, taken a place in the hearts and sympathies of Padovans who frequently refer to it simply as The Square. At various times it was also known as the square without grass because the number of trees prevented much grass from growing there. Today, however, it is completely covered with grass, as all but one of the trees has died.
During the 1990s, the "Prato" went through a period of degradation and neglect, but today it has been restored to its original splendor through reclamation projects and the concern and involvement of the citizens of Padova. During the summer, the square is animated by large numbers of visitors who skate, stroll or study while tanning themselves in the sun. Summer evenings are marked by the presence of teens and young adults who chat until the early hours of the morning.
For several years, Prato della Valle has been the seat of the Padovan section of the Festivalbar, and recently it has even played host to skating competitions, thanks to the wide asphalted ring which surrounds the square.
Every New Year's Day, and during the Feast of the Annunciation in August, parties with music and fireworks take place in the Prato.

The complex was founded in the 5th century on the tomb of the namesake saint, and in the 15th century became one of the most important monasteries in the are, until it was suppressed by Napoleon in 1810. In 1919 it was reopened. The tombs of several saints are housed in the interior, including those of Justine, St. Prosdocimus, St. Maximus, St. Urius, St. Felicita, St. Julianus, as well as relics of the Apostle St. Matthias and the Evangelist St. Luke.

The Pedrocchi is a historic landmark, as beloved by the Padovans as “their” own St. Anthony (who actually hailed from Lisbon). When it first opened in 1831, it was the largest cafe in Europe. Famous literary and political characters and local luminaries made this their command post—French-born Henri Beyle, aka Stendhal, had it in mind when he wrote: “The best Italian cafe is almost as good as the Parisian ones.” Countless others were less reserved, calling it arguably the most beautiful coffeehouse in the world.
Heavily damaged during World War II, it has been completely rebuilt in its original neoclassical 19thcentury stage-set splendor, and, after a laborious renovation and heralded December 1998 reopening that was, for Padua, the event of the year, it is again the social heartbeat of the city. It has the nicest restrooms in town, for the use of cafe patrons. They’re worth the cost of a coffee. In warm weather Pedrocchi opens wide its doors (and hence its curious description as a “doorless cafe”) onto the pedestrian piazza; sit here for a while to absorb the Padovan spirit. As is always the case, drinks cost less when you’re standing at the bar, but then you will have missed the dolce far niente (sweetness of doing nothing) experience for which Pedrocchi has always been known. A cappuccino, tea, beer, or glass of white prosecco wine will cost 2.50€ ($2.90) at your table (half that at the bar), and hunger can be held at bay with a plate of dainty teatime pastries or a grilled ham-and-cheese toast, each 2.50€ ($2.90). Pedrocchi often hosts live music in the evenings; check their website for dates, or just stop by during your visit to sip the atmosphere.
Via VIII Febbraio 15 (at Piazza Cavour)
tel. 049-878-1231
Historical salon upstairs: daily 9:30am–12:30pm and 3:30–8pm.
Bar: Sun–Wed 9am–9pm, Thurs–Sat 9am–midnight. Bus: 3, 8, 12, 16, 18, or 22. Closed 2 weeks in mid-Aug.

Located just south of the historic Caffè Pedrocchi, and a necessary and inevitable destination for those meandering about the historic center of town, the picturesque open-air markets of Piazza delle Erbe (Square of the Herbs) and Piazza della Frutta (Square of Fruit) frame this massive 13th-century palazzo at their center.
Together they have stood as the town’s political and commercial nucleus for centuries. Before being distracted by the color, smells, and cacophony of the sprawling outdoor fruit and vegetable market stalls, turn your attention to the magnificent Palazzo della Ragione, whose interior is as impressive as its exterior. Food shops by the dozen fill its ground floor, and stand-up bars and outdoor cafes make this lunchtime central.
The two-story loggia-lined “Palace of Reason” is topped with a distinctive sloped roof that resembles the inverted hull of a ship, the largest of its kind in the world. It was built in 1219 as the seat of Padua’s parliament and was used as an assembly hall, courthouse, and administrative center to celebrate Padua’s newly won independence as a republican city. Considered a masterpiece of civil medieval architecture, it was heavily damaged by a fire in 1420 that destroyed, among other things, an elaborate cycle of frescoes by Giotto and his students that adorned the il Salone (the Great Hall). The hall, 81m (270 ft.) long, was almost immediately rebuilt and is today the prime draw, both for its floor-to-ceiling 15th-century frescoes commissioned immediately after the fire, and a large wooden sculpture of a horse attributed to Donatello (although many art historians don’t agree). The 15th-century frescoes are similar in style and astrological theme to those that had been painted by Giotto, and comprise one of the very few complete zodiac cycles to survive until modern times. Museumquality exhibitions are often held here, which gives you another reason to visit, beyond just seeing the impressive building itself. On the far (west) side of the adjoining piazzas’ canvas-topped stalls, flanking the Palazzo della Ragione, is the Piazza dei Signori, most noteworthy for the 15th-century clock tower that dominates it, the first of its kind in Italy.
Piazza delle Erbe/Piazza della Frutta
phone 049-820-5006
Admission to palazzo 6€ adults, 3€ children.
Feb–Oct Tues–Sun 9am–7pm;
Nov–Jan Tue–Sun 9am–6pm.
Bus: 3,5,6,8,9,10,11,12,13,15,18,22 or 42

These centuries-old cloisters that were once home to the monks (eremitani means “hermits”) who officiated in the adjacent Scrovegni Chapel (officially part of the museum complex) have been handsomely renovated to provide an airy display space as the city’s new civic museum. Its prodigious collection begins on the ground floor with the Archaeological Museum’s division of Egyptian, Roman, and Etruscan artifacts and antiquities. The upstairs collection represents an impressive panorama of minor works from major Venetian artists from the early 15th century to the 19th century: You’ll find works by Titian, Tiepolo, and Tintoretto, whose Crucifixion is the museum’s finest work. Special mention is given to Giotto’s unusual wooden crucifix and Bellini’s Portrait of a Young Senator.
Piazza Eremitani 8 (off Corso Garibaldi)
tel.049-201-0020 for required reservations (call center lines open Mon–Fri 9am–7pm, Sat 9am–1pm)
For reservations: musei.comune@padovanet.it
Admission (joint ticket with the Museo Eremitani; add 1€ per ticket to reservations made online) 11€ adults (includes a 1€ reservation fee), 4€ ages 6–17, free for children under 6 (although admission still requires a reservation); free with purchase of Padova- Card
Daily 9am–7pm; until 9:30pm in summer.
Entrance through the Museo Eremitani.
Bus: 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 22, or 42.
www.cappelladegliscrovegni.it
www.comune.padova.it/museicivici