"Smart Town" a Padova Travel Page by rexvaughan

This is a beautiful little city and we really didn't do it justice by coming for just a day trip in 1996 to see the Basilica of St. Anthony and the Scrovegni Chapel and then a brief stopover in 2005 to meet VTers Paoseo, PaKettle and Berni Shand and their spouses for a wonderful dinner and evening. I read that the city has always stood in the shadow (and under the rule) of Venice, but claims to be the brains of the region. It boasts a prestigious university founded in 1222 and had such students as Dante, Petrarch, Copernicus and Galileo. It was evidently always a "free thinking" university which refused to be limited by the strictures of the church and encouraged liberal and radical thought. Galileo was on the faculty here for almost 2 decades.

This lovely garden greets you as you enter the Gardini Dell' Arena where the Scrovegni Chapel is located.

The most famous residents currently in Padova are Ma and Pa Kettle of VT fame. If you want to see a really good page with great local insights, look at theirs at:
http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/6dbdd/23d9b/

I don't know the difference between a basilica and other kinds of churches (I know a cathedral is the seat of a bishop), but this one is really magnificent. What was even neater when we went in there was a mass in progress. We try to be respectful of places we visit and after all this is why the church is here. Anyway, we sat down in the back and were treated to wonderful chants and singing led by a nun who had a beautiful, clear voice. Certainly gives one a better appreciation of these great churches.

We found a helpful TI at the train station who directed us to the bus which took us into the town center. We wandered around the Basilica with our mouths open then went through this lovely gate into the Gardini Dell' Arena. We really must come back here as this visit was so short I really didn't get oriented very well. I have since figured out that this was a walled city. It also has a long history having started as a fishing village in the 4th C BCE. It has suffered highs and several destructive invasions, the last being WWII when there was quite extensive damage to the town and many buildings.