History

Padova claims to be the oldest city in northern Italy. According to a tradition dated at least to Virgil's Eneide, and rediscovered by the medieval commune to glorify itself, it was founded in 1183 BC by the Trojan prince Antenor, who was supposed to have led the people of Eneti or Veneti from the Balcanic region to Italy. The city exhumed a large stone sarcophagus in the year 1274 and declared these to represent Antenor's relics.

The city was a Roman municipium since 45 BC. It then fell under the control of the Lombards. In 601, the city rose in revolt, against Agilulf, the Lombard king. After suffering a long (12 years) and bloody siege, it was stormed and burned by him. The Padova of Antiquity was annihilated: the remains of an amphitheater (the Arena) and some bridge foundations are all that remain of Roman Padova today.

During the 12th century Padova was controlled by different great families (da Romano, Scaligeri, Da Carrara). In this period the university (the third in Italy) was founded in 1222, and it flourished in the 1200s.

Padova passed under Venetian rule in 1405, and so mostly remained until the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797.

In 1797 the Venetian Republic was wiped off the map by the Treaty of Campo Formio, and Padova was ceded to the Austrian Empire. After the fall of Napoleon, in 1814, the city became part of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia.

The Austrians were unpopular with progressive circles in northern Italy. In Padova, the year of revolutions of 1848 saw a student revolt which on February 8 turned the University and the Caffè Pedrocchi into battlegrounds in which students and ordinary Padovans fought side by side.

When Italy entered the Great War on 24th May 1915, Padova was chosen as the main command of the Italian Army. The king, Vittorio Emanuele III, and the commander in chief Cadorna went to live in Padova for the war period. The city was finally liberated by partisans and British troops on 28th April 1945.

After the war, the city developed rapidly, reflecting Veneto's rise from being the poorest region in northern Italy to one of the richest and most active regions of modern Italy.

Suggested visits

Palazzo della Ragione 

The Palazzo della Ragione, with its great hall on the upper floor, is reputed to have the largest roof unsupported by columns in Europe. The Palazzo was begun in 1172 and finished in 1219. In 1306 Fra Giovanni, an Augustinian friar, covered the whole with one roof. Originally there were three roofs, spanning the three chambers into which the hall was at first divided; the internal partition walls remained till the fire of 1420, when the Venetian architects who undertook the restoration removed them, throwing all three spaces into one and forming the present great hall, the Salone. The new space was refrescoed by Nicolo' Miretto and Stefano da Ferrara, working from 1425 to 1440. Beneath the great hall, there is a centuries-old market.

Scrovegni Chapel

The Scrovegni Chapel (Italian: Cappella degli Scrovegni) is Padua's most famous sight. It houses a remarkable cycle of frescoes completed in 1305 by Giotto. It was Commissioned by Enrico degli Scrovegni, a wealthy banker, as a private chapel once attached to his family's palazzo. It is also called the "Arena Chapel" because it stands on the site of a Roman-era arena. The fresco cycle details the life of the Virgin Mary and has been acknowledged by many to be one of the most important fresco cycles in the world. Entrance to the chapel is an elaborate ordeal, as it involves spending 15 minutes prior to entrance in a climate-controlled, airlocked vault, used to stabilize the temperature between the outside world and the inside of the chapel. This is to improve preservation. Book ahead if planning a visit.

Eremitani Church

The Church of the Eremitani is an Augustinian church of the 13th century, containing the tombs of Jacopo (1324) and Ubertinello (1345) da Carrara, lords of Padua, and for the chapel of SS James and Christopher, formerly illustrated by Mantegna's frescoes. This was largely destroyed by the Allies in World War II, because it was next to the Nazi headquarters. The old monastery of the church now houses the municipal art gallery.

Gran Guardia

In the Piazza dei Signori is the beautiful loggia called the Gran Guardia, (1493 - 1526), and close by is the Palazzo del Capitanio, the residence of the Venetian governors, with its great door, the work of Giovanni Maria Falconetto, the Veronese architect-sculptor who introduced Renaissance architecture to Padua and who completed the door in 1532. Falconetto was the architect of Alvise Cornaro's garden loggia, (Loggia Cornaro), the first fully Renaissance building in Padua [1]. Nearby, the Cathedral, remodelled in 1552 after a design of Michelangelo. It contains works by Nicolò Semitecolo, Francesco Bassano and Giorgio Schiavone. The nearby Baptistry, consecrated in 1281, houses the most important frescoes cycle by Giusto de' Menabuoi.

St. Anthony Basilica 

Started immediately after the death of the Santo (1231) and completed at the beginning of the following century, it is an imposing construction in Romanesque-Gothic style, with eight domes and spires of eastern inspiration. It holds the body of St. Anthony and is the object of pilgrimages from all over the world.

Prato della Valle

One of the best known symbols of Padua is the Prato della Valle, a 90,000 m² elliptical square. This is believed to be the biggest in Europe, after Red Square in Moscow. In the centre is a wide garden surrounded by a ditch, which is lined by 78 statues portraying famous citizens.

St. Justine Basilica

The abbey and the basilica of Santa Giustina. In the 15th century, it became one of the most important monasteries in the area, 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. This is home to some art, including the Martyrdom of St. Justine by Paolo Veronese. The complex was founded in the 5th century on the tomb of the namesake saint, Justine of Padua.

Bo Palace

This large group of buildings, erected between 1542 and 1601, around the mediaeval inn of the "Bo" (the Ox), has been rearranged several times and with modern additions from 1920-1940, is the main seat of the University, founded in 1222. Piazza dei Signori. The large square, seat of a picturesque market, is closed to the western end by the Palazzo del Capitanio (late 16th century), which includes the old Clock Tower, with the great astronomical clock. At the southern end raises the Loggia della Gran Guardia.

Botanical Garden 

Founded in 1545 as the Simple Garden (medicinal plants) of the Medical Faculty of the University, it is the oldest botanical garden with didactic aim in the world. It holds an extremely important collection of rare plants.

Local Informations

Climate

The climate is continental, with great extremes of temperature. Summer is usually hot and humid. The temperature in September may vary between a minimum of 17°C and a maximum of 30°C.

Meals

In Italy, lunch is usually at 13.00, and dinner at about 20.00. Please note that it is difficult to find dinner served before 19.00 in Italy. For dinner, there are many small restaurants in Padova where you can have a pizza or an Italian dinner. Average prices vary from €12 to €30.

Local transport

Buses
Bus tickets are NOT sold on board (unless otherwise specified); they can be bought at newsagents and tobacconists. If your trip is not within the urban area, specify your destination. You must stamp your ticket in the orange, red or yellow stamping machine as soon as you get on board; otherwise, it is not valid. Once stamped, the ticket is valid for a hour, and in that time you can take as many different buses as you need without buying another ticket.
Here you will find bus numbers and timetables (in italian). Select departure (“partenza”) and destination (“arrivo”) from the drop-down list in the first box (“Applicativo destinazioni Padova”) and click on the “invia” button to confirm. The “Linee da utilizzare” box shows bus numbers. Timetables are available clicking on bus numbers on the third box.

Call center: 049 - 20111

Taxis
“Cooperativa Radio Taxi Padova” is a 24-hours radio taxi service.
Taxis can be found at the train station or you can dial 049 651333.
Other informations: www.taxipadova.it

Car rental
Car rental agencies are available at most of the international airports. Their rates depend on the type of car and length of the rental period; and may increase if the car is returned to a different location.

Emergency numbers

Ambulance/emergency medical care: 118

Car breakdown service: 116

Fire department/general civil emergency: 115

Police: 113

Carabinieri (military police on civilian duty): 112

Vigili Urbani di Padova (Civic Police: small emergencies, car accidents, etc): 049 8754542

Hospital accident and first aid departments are called: “Pronto Soccorso”. The main Padova Hospital is Ospedale Civile (049 821111).