Italy - Padova

http://www.padovanet.it/index.jsp

I wanted to do a brief note on the names. Often the American versions of the names are different, and for me it is the one I have heard most that feels right. I do use Italy and Venice over Italia and Venezia, because I heard those a lot. I am fine with Florence over Firenze. However, when I was in junior high I had a pen pal in Padova, and Padua will always sound wrong to me. I don't know of another name for Este, and for some of the other places that will also be the case, but if there is a more traditional name I will try and mention it.

Padova claims to be the oldest city in Northern Italy, tradition dating it back to 1183 BC. That may just be tradition, but the thing with Italy is that there are many very old things, and there are layers of antiquity. So there was a castle in Este after the tenth century, but what you are seeing only goes back to the 13th. Vicenza does not go back to the Romans, but there is a wall in the city that does.

Padova in fact was a Roman city at one point, but I think the thing that amazes me the most is knowing that Galileo lectured at the University.

We started at the Basilica di Sant'Antonio da Padova, observing a mass that was full of worshipers. The city was quite crowded that day. Among other things, there was a reunion of the Alpini going on. (The Alpini are an elite Army corps. At least in the North they hold and important emotional place, maybe similar to the Green Berets.)

We then walked to the Prato delle Valle. I found it stunning.

It is a green space surrounded by water, and there is a double ring of statues. There are 78 total, and they are reflected in the water, and you really don't know where to look, or how to take a picture that gives the full impression. I ended up giving up on that, and just photographing partial expressions.

It is there that you begin to realize how beautiful the city is architecturally, because as you walk around it you have all of these scenic views. There is a great view of not just St. Anthony's Basilica (yes, I Anglicized it that time), but also of St. Giustina's, and everything else. Most of these pictures were taken walking around Il Prato.

You should notice an abundance of arches, mainly Roman but also some more Gothic. I believe that's the Venetian influence. So you see all of these arched galleries (I believe the proper term is loggia) extending along the buildings in every direction, and it stays with you.

The other thing I should mention is that I don't have a great picture of it, but that equestrian statue at the top is by Donatello. The other famous art name for Padova is Giotto, who did some frescoes for Scrovegni Chapel. I guess it is possible to see them, but it is a difficult process because they are sealed in for preservation.

Really, the best way to see Padova is probably walking around Il Prato. There is so much to look at, functioning as monument and park, that it is somewhat similar to the Tidal Basin in Washington DC, but it's more central to the city. People gravitate around there, and you can be part of that.