Padova Things to Do

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Right in the centre of old Padova is the epic Palazzo della Ragione. It sits in between two grand squares, the Piazza Delle Erbe and the Piazza Delle Frutta. Often these piazzas fills up with market stalls, but on quiet days you will be blessed with a clear view of this grand old building.

The palace was originally built in the 12th century, but has been worked on and developed over the centuries. One of the greatest achievements was the single roof. Originally it took three roofs. The interior hall is nearly a hundred meters long, and is believed to have the largest unsupported roof in Europe.

Overlooking the same squares you can also find the enigmatic Torre degli Anziani.

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Although this tip doesn't deal with the monuments tourists usually visit in Padova (Sant'Antonio, Piazza delle Erbe, and so on), I really think it is a must not only for tourists.
Memoria e luce ("Memory and light" because it can be illuminated) represents an open book like the one that the Statue of Liberty holds in her hand and is the only European monument to the victims of the 11th September 2001 terror attacks in New York. It celebrates in particular the numerous firemen who died while trying to save other people. The New York firemen gave a beam of the World Trade Center as a gift to the Region of Veneto.
The model of the monument by Daniel Libeskind, which was selected among many proposals, was exhibited in the hall of the Padova railway station in 2006, but no more now. Its base reported the poem written in the book of the Statue of Liberty. You are lucky that I took a photo of it, so you can still see it (fourth and fifth photos of this tip)!
Thank you Veneto and Padova for honouring my country once more! God bless America!

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This impressive doorway to the Bo University is cast in Bronze, which was seized from the enemy during WW1.

It was the work of G. Qrsolini and G. Casanova, which was carried out between 1922 - 1923%c.

The door bears the names of the University's students who died in the war

I entered through this doorway, not knowing that it was the University- I was just interested in the doorway and then the crests etc.

The Doorway leads into 'The Heroes Entrance' - This is so named because of the marble memorial tablets in memory of the students who died in the Wars of Independence and Freedom which happened between 1848 and 1945.

The University was the only one in Italy to be awarded the Gold Medal for Military Valor, for its contribution to the Resistance Movement, and the Battle for Freedom!

An inscription at the bottom of the marble stele explains why this University was awarded the Gold Medal

Close to the Giotto's masterpiece Cappella degli Scrovegni, in Padova there is another church that worth a visit. You can find it walking out of the garden where the Cappella is and turning left.
The Chiesa degli Eremitani during the Second World War was blowed out by some bombs, so dont expect much decoration in it as the frescos in the left part of the church have been totally destroyed, but in the right, oh, i can tell you thay what you can see there worth the visit!!
Mantegna painted the right Cappella inside the church, called Cappella degli Ovetari and his frescos have been showed in a important art exhibition some years ago.
If when you will go there the Cappella will be still closed for restoring work, try to find the caretaker, I did, and he was wery nice and, when i told him i was so sad i cant see well the frescos because the scaffolding, he opened the gate and took me inside the chapel to see better!!

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If you appreciate wine and do the tastings in areas you travel you will probably know about Luxardo and their liquors which are marketed world wide.
They have an on site tasting room and you can enjoy finding the perfect liquor while learning the history of Luxardo. Even the White House features their liquors and President Obama recently sent them a letter concerning his appreciation of their appertifs.
The representative will give you quite a history of Luxardo and you can ask questions about the area and the beautiful hills nearby.
I suggest making this a day trip while visiting also a trattoria in the hills, and also a fine winery called Vignalta which has two different tasting rooms in these hills. I suggest the one in Arca Petraca, and you can find a page on this winery in my travel pages. (Their 2005 Rosso Riserva is awesome.)

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St Anthony was a Portuguese friar, born about 1195. Arriving in Padua in 1228, he stayed briefly and then travelled about Italy and France preaching. He returned to Padua in 1231, where he died of dropsy. Pope Gregory IX canonized him in 1232.

His remains are entombed inside this great basilica, built in his honor. Completed in the late 13th century, it is one of the most impressive churches in Veneto. It is filled with art treasures, notably works by Tommaso and Matteo Allio, Camillo Boito, and Bartolomeo Mugini.

In Roman times, this square was known as the Campo Marzio, the social center of the city. It was built around the Zairo theater, whose remains continued to stand here for centuries after the fall of Rome. In 1775, Governor Andrea Memmo commissioned the architect Domenico Cerato to design an elliptical public space with an island in the middle. Along the moat, he had statues erected of Padua's most distinguished citizens. It is still the main center of Padua.

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This huge wooden horse is dwarfed by the size of the hall - it isn't until You stand near it that You can appreciate how large it is!


It is so large, that it was actually assembled in sections in situ - in the Western end of the hall.

It was given as a gift to the city by the Capodilista family on December 11th 1837.

Originally it had been constructed in 1466 for a public tournament (I've also read that it was part of a roundabout, or that it was built to be pulled in procession at Paduan festivities ).

It was designed by Agostino Rinaldi - apparently it has mistakenly been thought to have been designed by Donatello, as its head and foot position are similar to that of the equestrian statue in front of Basillica Antonio, which Donatello did create.

Rinaldi modelled this wooden horses head , tail and legs on the aforementioned statue.
The horse statue previously resided in the Palazzo Capodilista.

Again. my photo's are dark, so not a good illustration.

Please see my previous tips for more information on the Palazzo della Ragione