CULTURAL TOURISM

PADUA: The city with the Saint without a name, the meadow without grass and the coffee house without doors!

Padua is a treasure chest filled with history and art:

  • St. Anthony’s Basilica with its priceless bronze works by Donatello on the high altar (the Altare Maggiore) and a frescoes cycle by Altichiero in St. James’s Chapel which dates back to 1300. Every year, millions of pilgrims come to Padua, to brush their hands over the Saint’s grave and entrust him with their prayers and thanks. Donatello’s Statue of Gattamelata
  • Scrovegni Chapel, decorated with Giotto’s frescoes in the XIII century
  • The Bo’ University, the second most ancient University in Italy after Bologna. Galilei, Morgagni, Falloppio and many other illustrious scientists were on the faculty of this university. Noteworthy is the figure of Elena Lucrezia Corner Piscopia, the first woman in the world to graduate form a University (in 1678).
  • Prato della Valle, the biggest square in Italy and one of the biggest in Europe, with its 78 statues that, according to legend, come down from their pedestals at night to exchange gossip! The Basilica of Santa Giustina faces the enchanting “meadow without grass”
  • The Caffè Pedrocchi, that is, “the coffee house without doors”.
  • The Botanical Gardens, the first university botanical garden in the world, declared world heritage by Unesco.
  • The Duomo Baptistry with its frescoes by Giusto de’Menabuoi and the Duomo.
  • Piazza delle Erbe, della Frutta and dei Signori, the Palazzo della Ragione
  • The Specola astronomic observatory

VENETO

  • Venice, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, only 30 minutes by train from Padua
  • Ville del Brenta with the famous Villa Pisani
  • The Euganean Hills, with the picturesque villages of Arquà Petrarca, Este, Montagnana, Monselice, the thermal towns, the villas and gardens of Valsanzibio, Luvigliano, Villa Emo, the Castello del Catajo.
  • Verona, Vicenza, Treviso are also well worth a visit!