Padua: a city to be seen

City of the Saint without name, of the Coffee Shop without doors and of the Lawn without grass!

Curiosity : do you know that..........

• Every morning there is the traditional popular market of fruits and vegetables in Erbe Square. There are more than 80 wood stands on wheels on the floor of the plaza (called Levā) full of fruits, vegetable, flowers and grain. The show of colors, perfumes and sounds is unforgettable. click here

• The Bucranio (skull and crossbones of ox) is the most important symbol of Padua's university students. But which are the origins?
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• The astral clock (made by Jacopo Dondi in 1344) in Signori Square, represents all the Zodiac signs, except the "Balance". Which is the reason?  click here

• Walking with Antenore, hellenic prince: origins and traditions of the town between mythology and history. The birth of the town according with the Sofocle legend, would be dated 1183 D.C.! More than 3000 years of history.
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• Giotto took about two years (1304-1306) to fresco the Scrovegni's private chapel. Why such a long time?
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•On sunday, antique market in Prato della Valle click here

• "Gaudeamus igitur, juvenes dum sumus, post jucundam juventutem  post molestam senectutem nos habebit humus....."
The Goliardery in Padua: a party for all!! Origins and traditions of the most ancient university movement... click here

• A Route to Discover the Old Padua Gates and Walls.
The length of this route is 12 - 13 km, across ancient bastions and Renaissance walls.
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• The Civic Museum of the Eremitanis includes the Archaeological Museum, the Museum of medieval and modern art and the Museum Bottacin.
It is important to see "the lapidary collection of G. Furlanetto", "the painting collection of Emo Capodilista", "the numismatic collection Bottacin" and the Roman archaeological recoveries, discovered during the reparation of the banks...  click here

More to Explore:

• Padua water's town: once, many rivers and channels crossed the town. They were the most important approach and contributed to the strategic defense. The channels and the navigation come to the top among the XII and XV century. As a result such a high commercial development, Padua became a real port zone.   click here

• La Specola č certamente uno dei luoghi pių suggestivi di Padova.
Oggi l'antica torre e gli edifici adiacenti sono la sede del "Museo la Specola" che testimonia la lunga storia della astronomia patavina.  click here

• The Botanical Garden in Padua was born in 1545. It is the most ancient University Botanical Garden of the world.
Created from the Venetian Republic, the garden was used particularly for the cultivation of medicinal plants.  click here

• The historical center in Padua is characterized by a lot of porches and colonnades.  The porticos are inserted among the squares, the ghettos and the ancient buildings.  You can walk in the city without leaving them!!!!  click here

A sign of history :

Padua (also called "the city of Saint Anthony") has more than 3000 years of history and according to the legend, has been founded by the mythological hero Antenore, hellenic prince. Since the IV sec.a.C, for strategic reasons, it became one of the most prosperous cities of the Roman empire. In 602 Padua was destroyed by the " Longobards" and today only the ruins of a great amphitheater and some bridges remain. In the XII century Padua became a free town and among 1338 and 1405, during the dominion of Carraresi family, became an important political, economic, cultural and religious center. During this period Padua extends the borders to the Venetia. In 1222 the second University of Italy was founded : teachers and students (William Shakespeare included) arrived from Europe. In 1405 the Venetian Republic conquers Padua. This is the moment in which the town knows the maximum commercial and cultural development. After Napoleone Bonaparte dominion, Padua became an Austrian region. In 1866 was declared territory of the Italian kingdom. During W.W.II many bombings destroyed the town, and the Cappella Ovetari which had been frescoed by Mantegna. The following reconstruction was carried out with the original pattern (narrow roads and wide arcades).
Padua is a very lively centre and is the most important town to lead local industrial development.