Padova

Padova is a city about 30 minutes East of Vicenza. It's just about the half way point between Venice and Vicenza. We had been to Padova  many times before, but just to go Ikea. Ugh, don't get me started on how many times we have had to go to that store! I feel like I know where everything in that store is now, and everyone who works there. But anyways, as you can see, my first impressions of Padova were not very good ones. But this weekend we decided to go down to the historic part of the city, and it turned out to be quite nice, and there are a few important sights to see there.

Our first stop in Padova was the Scrovegni Chapel, which if you have ever taken a humanities class, you probably learned about this chapel. The chapel was built by the Scrovegni family out of guilt from Reginaldo Scrovegni committing the crime of usury. Giotto di Bondone, one of the first innovators of the Italian Renaissance was commissioned to paint the glorious frescoes inside of the chapel. Giotto's style of painting was very advanced for his time. While his contemporaries, and those before him were painting, flat two dimensional scenes, Giotto was painting full, voluminous and emotional figures, breaking away from the Middle Ages and commencing the era of Renaissance art. Many regard the Scrovegni Chapel to be the first-ever piece of modern art.

Me waiting outside of the Scrovegni Chapel, and reading up on Giotto.

The outside of the chapel is rather plain and unexciting. But the inside is breathtaking. The frescoes inside recently underwent intense restoration. The restoration project is still not complete and there was still some scaffolding up when we visited. In order to preserve the frescoes, the humidity in the chapel has to be controlled, so no more than 25 people at a time can be inside the chapel at once. We luckily got put in a small group, and had the chapel almost all to ourselves. Unfortunately, we could not take pictures inside, but here is what the chapel looks like:

I think this picture was taken before the restoration, because the colors are much brighter now. The side walls of the chapel are covered in frescoes that much resemble the panels of a comic book eloquently explaining the life of Jesus and Mary, his mother.

The ever recognizable scene of the Judas' betrayal. Once again, it now looks much better than this, having been restored.

After visiting the Scrovegni Chapel, we decided to walk around Padova a bit and take a look at the markets.

I think this was Piazza delle Erbe?

Padova is supposed to have the best produce markets in Italy, they even have a square named after their fruit: Piazza della Frutta!

Next we got some lunch at a deli and picnicked in front of the Basilica of St. Anthony. This church is pretty big! It looks massive from the outside. We couldn't take pictures inside, and we have seen so many churches, so I can't really remember what this one looks like on the inside! I do remember however, how much the Catholics love St. Anthony. Inside of the church there was a huge shrine to him with flowers, posters, and pictures with thank yous to him, for saving children from sickness, helping people escape from car crashes, and the like. St Anthony was also known for being an inspiring speaker. Because of this, his tongue is preserved and has a special place in the chapel of reliquaries. This church is apparently a big pilgrammage sight for those of the Catholic faith. It is interesting because the Basilica is actually territory of the Vatican, so when you step inside the church you are technically in a different country, the Vatican City.

Me outside of St. Anthony's Basilica

In the cloisters of the Basilica.

After visiting the Basilica we walked back to the train station, and took the train home. It was a fun Saturday activity to explore the city of Padova!