Fun things to do in Padova

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Casa Olzignani, in Via Umberto I, is one of my most favorite buildings in whole of Padova, whenever am visiting the town I must see again this exceptionally structured house.
The house was erected in 1466 by Pietro Lombardo, one of the first Renaissance architects, and father of two Italian prominent sculptors. Pietro Lombardo (1435-1515) was an Italian sculptor and architect. He sculpted many Venetian tombs, including those of Dante Alighieri and several Venetian doges. His most appreciated project is the Venetian church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli.

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Palazzo Emo - Capodilista, located in Corso Umberto I, with a batllements and tall medieval tower, is one of the few buildings from the 13th century left in the city. It has the splendid Romanesque facade with three-lights balcony and staircase inside from the 17th century. In the hall of the palace there is the tombstone of Tito Livio, who died in Padova in 17 AD, with an inscription engraved on a large block of rough Euganean trachyte.
(Titus Livius Patavinus was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people).
Inside the palace is a hall decorated by Francesco Zugno. Palazzo Emo - Capodilista is one of the many medieval tower-houses, so typical for the homes of noble families. Such a buildings were very numerous in the old core of the city, as it could be seen when strolling around.

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Loggia e Odeo Cornaro is an architectural complex built by Alvise Cornaro in the first half of the16th century. Thew loggia was born as an result of humanistic interests for the theatre-antique, to represent the works of Angelo Beolco, called "Il Ruzzante", who was superintendent of Alvise Cornaro and his man of trust. This Forum Cornaro that faithfully reproduces the classical literature was designed by the architect and painter Giovanni Maria Falconeto in 1524 and was specially designed for the theatre performances. In fact it is a sort of lap without a depth and was used as a performance space (stage is theatrical background). The octagonal room in the center of Odeo consist of straight walls alternating with niches and is very similar to the rooms of the Domus Aurea (at Rome), which was discovered only at the beginning of the 206th century. Some scholars have suggested that the room should serve to host music cncerts.

Padova was quite a large town back when they needed walls for protection and so its wall cannot be walked, and also some homes were built right into the wall. There is one home in the center of Padova that has a 3 foot wall inside.
However, there are many places where you can see the wall up close and therefore you can see how they have been repaired, and constructed. This photo is from the wall nearest the Scrovegni Chapel where the famous paintings by Giotto can be viewed. You can see some reconstruction in the background... this has been going on for many years because of the economy.
The wall was built originally by the Romans. It was strong enough hundreds of years later to stop the Austrian ruler, who was thrown out, from getting his army back inside. There was a long seige. When he finally got inside, he burned part of Padova as their reward for his ousting.
I hope that now when you look at the wall, it will have more meaning for you.....

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Several times a year the citizens take out their medieval costumes, dust off the swords and armor, and get ready for a weekend of medieval life. There is usually a parade on both days of the weekend, and big medieval market of things made during that time, and tours of parts of the medieval town. Some of this includes underground visits to things not seen by tourists, guided trips along the wall and canal and entrance to some of the towers.
The festival that I attended occurs in June of every year.

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I love Italian 'tower houses'.

I first came across these early Medieval expressions of power (and how terribly symbolic having a bigger tower than anyone else clearly is!) in Pavia. since then I've noticed them...or their remains, for few are still at their original height..in other northern Italian towns. Tower houses were very much in fashion during the early Medieval period (the 1200s-1400s, roughly) but most have been greatly reduced in height over the centuries, for obvious reasons. You can somtimes spot an ex-tower house by its shape...square based and quite narrow, with its lower layers made of huge stones.

This one, attached to the Palazzo Zabarella, is the only one I spotted in Padova, though being with the FW meant I was not able to look as closely as I normally do.

As with most palazzi, the complex is much bigger than it appears from the street, stretching back around a central (hidden) courtyard. The area itself was the heart of Roman Padova, and the torre and palazzo date from the 12rh and 13th century. Restoration was completed in 1996 (see the website for info...it's in Italian).

The building is now used for exhibitions and events.

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It's very easy to miss history and architectural interest if you don't look up.

In this respect Padova is no different to anywhere else. So keep looking up...you'll see carvings and twiddles, frescoes and decorative brickwork, windows which tell you the building's age, sometimes clues to changes over the ages, elaborate balcony ironwork and...if you're lucky..a Green Man! :-)

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I found Padova absolutely fascinating from an architectural point of view.

The historical centre still, in the main, has its Medieval street layout...and many of the streets are cobbled, and still lined with buildings of great age..some early Medieval, some later Medieval, palazzos and 'ordinary' houses, 18th-century mansions, arcades and pillars...

There is so much to see and enjoy as you wander.