Difference between revisions of "Padua" - New World Encyclopedia

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{{Infobox CityIT
 
{{Infobox CityIT
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| image_skyline         = Padova-Palazzo della Ragione.jpg
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| name                = Padua
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| image_caption         = Palazzo della Ragione
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| official_name      = Città di Padova
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| official_name         = Comune di Padova
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| native_name        = Padova
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| img_coa                = Padova-Stemma.png
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| image_skyline       = Padova-Palazzo della Ragione.jpg
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| region                 = [[Veneto]]
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| imagesize          =
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| province               = [[Province of Padua|Padua]] (PD)
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| image_alt          =
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| mayor                  = [[Flavio Zanonato]] (since June 14, 2004)
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| image_caption       = Palazzo della Ragione
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| mayor_party           =
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| image_shield        = Padova-Stemma.png
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| elevation_footnotes    =
+
| shield_alt         =
−
| elevation_m            = 12
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| image_map          =
−
| area_footnotes         =
+
| map_alt            =
−
| area_total_km2         = 92
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| map_caption        =
−
| population_footnotes   =
+
| pushpin_label_position =
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| population_as_of      = December 31, 2004
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| pushpin_map_alt    =
−
| population_total      = 212500
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| latd  = 45 |latm  = 25 |lats  =  |latNS  = N
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| pop_density_footnotes =
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| longd = 11 |longm = 52 |longs =  |longEW = E
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| population_density_km2 = 2267
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| coordinates_type    = region:IT-PD_type:city(210000)
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| coordinates_display = title
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| coordinates_footnotes =
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| region             = [[Veneto]]
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| province           = [[Province of Padua|Padua]] (PD)
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| frazioni            = Altichiero, Arcella, Bassanello, Brusegana, Camin, Chiesanuova, Forcellini, Guizza, Mandria, Montà, Mortise, Paltana, Ponte di Brenta, Ponterotto, Pontevigodarzere, Sacra Famiglia, Salboro, Stanga, Terranegra, Volta Brusegana
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| adjacentcomuni = [[Abano Terme]], [[Albignasego]], [[Cadoneghe]], [[Legnaro]], [[Limena]], [[Noventa Padovana]], [[Ponte San Nicolò]], [[Rubano]], [[Saonara]], [[Selvazzano Dentro]], [[Vigodarzere]], [[Vigonovo]], [[Vigonza]], [[Villafranca Padovana]]
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| mayor_party         = Democratic Party
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| mayor              = [[Flavio Zanonato]]
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| area_footnotes     =
 +
| area_total_km2     = 92.85
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| population_footnotes =
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| population_total    = 214125
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| population_as_of    = {{date|2011-10-31}}
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| pop_density_footnotes =
 
| coordinates            = {{coord|45|25|N|11|52|E|region:IT-PD_type:city(210000)|display=inline,title}}
 
| coordinates            = {{coord|45|25|N|11|52|E|region:IT-PD_type:city(210000)|display=inline,title}}
 
| gentilic              = Padovani or Patavini
 
| gentilic              = Padovani or Patavini
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| telephone              = 049
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| elevation_footnotes =
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| postalcode            = 35100
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| elevation_m        = 12
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| frazioni               = Altichiero, Arcella, Bassanello, Brusegana, Camin, Chiesanuova, Forcellini, Guizza, Mandria, Montà, Mortise, Paltana, Ponte di Brenta, Ponterotto, Pontevigodarzere, Sacra Famiglia, Salboro, Stanga, Terranegra, Volta Brusegana
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| twin1               =
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| saint                  = [[St. Anthony of Padua]]
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| twin1_country      =
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| day                    = June 13
 
 
| mapx                  = 45.417
 
| mapx                  = 45.417
 
| mapy                  = 11.877
 
| mapy                  = 11.877
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| native_name            =  
 
| native_name            =  
 
| name                  = Padua
 
| name                  = Padua
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| map                    =  
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| saint              = [[Prosdocimus|St.Prosdocimus of Padua]]
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| website               = [http://www.comune.padova.it www.comune.padova.it]
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| day                = June 13
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| postalcode            = 35100
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| telephone              = 049
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| website             = [http://www.comune.padova.it www.commune.padova.it]
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| footnotes          =
 
}}
 
}}
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'''Padua''' ({{lang-it|'''Padova'''}} {{IPA2|'padova}}, [[Latin]]: '''''Patavium''''',  {{lang-vec|'''Padoa'''}}) is a city in the [[Veneto]], northern [[Italy]]. It is the capital of [[Padova province]] and the economic and communications hub of the province. Padua's population is 212,500 ([[as of 2008|2008]]). The city is sometimes included, with [[Venice]] ([[Italian language|Italian]] ''Venezia''), in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area; population 1,600,000.
 
  
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Padua stands on the [[Bacchiglione|Bacchiglione River]], 40 km west of [[Venice]] and 29km southeast of [[Vicenza]]. The [[Brenta River]], which once ran through the city, still touches the northern districts. Its agricultural setting is the ''Pianura Veneta'', the "Venetian plain," To the city's south west lies the [[Colli Euganei|Euganaean Hills]], praised by [[Lucan (poet)|Lucan]] and [[Martial]], [[Petrarch]], [[Ugo Foscolo]], and [[Percy Bysshe Shelley|Shelley]].
 
  
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The city is picturesque, with a dense network of arcaded streets opening into large communal ''piazze'', and many bridges crossing the various branches of the [[Bacchiglione]], which once surrounded the ancient walls like a [[moat]].
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'''Padua''' ({{lang-it|'''Padova'''}} {{IPA2|'padova}}, [[Latin]]: '''''Patavium,''''' {{lang-vec|'''Padoa'''}}) is the capital city and the economic and [[communications]] hub of [[Padova province]], in the [[Veneto]] region of northern [[Italy]]. The region's variety of [[natural resource|natural]] and [[culture|cultural]] resources attracts the [[tourism]] of 20 million foreign and 24 million domestic visitors each year.
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Padua is famous as the city where the poet [[Dante]] lived, where [[Saint Anthony of Padua]] is buried, and as the setting for most of the action in [[Shakespeare]]'s play, ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]''.
  
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Padua is the setting for most of the action in [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]''.
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The city is picturesque, with a dense network of arcade lined streets opening into large communal ''piazze,'' and many [[bridge]]s crossing the various branches of the [[Bacchiglione River]], which once surrounded the city's ancient walls like a [[moat]].
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{{toc}}
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Padua's [[Orto Botanico di Padova]] was the world's first academic [[botanical garden]], created in 1545. The garden continues to serve its original purpose as a center for scientific research. It was named a [[World Heritage Site]] in 1997, noted by [[UNESCO]] for its contributions to the development of many modern scientific disciplines, notably [[botany]], [[medicine]], [[chemistry]], [[ecology]], and [[pharmacology]].
  
 
==Geography==
 
==Geography==
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Etymology of name – if available.
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[[Image:Padova-channel.jpg|thumb|left|225px|Tronco Maestro Riviera: A pedestrian walks along a section of the "inland waterway" or ''naviglio interno'' of Padua.]]
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Topography: Physical qualities of a particular place. Example: Mexico City
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Padua stands on the [[Bacchiglione|Bacchiglione River]], 25 miles (40 km) west of [[Venice]] and 18 miles (29 km) southeast of [[Vicenza]]. The [[Brenta River]], which once ran through the city, still touches the northern districts. Its agricultural setting is the "Venetian plain," and to the city's southwest lies the [[Colli Euganei|Euganaean Hills]], praised by [[Lucan (poet)|Lucan]] and [[Martial]], [[Petrarch]], [[Ugo Foscolo]], and [[Percy Bysshe Shelley|Shelley]].
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a. Mountain flanked basin
 
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b.  on dry lake bed
 
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c.  vulnerability to earthquakes
 
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d.  trapped air pollution (also true in L.A. and Athens)
 
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Elevation
 
  
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Rome enjoys a typical [[Mediterranean climate]]. The average maximum temperature in July is around 86°F (30°C), although it can be uncomfortably hot, with temperatures often exceeding 95°F (35°C) at midday. Romans tend to take holidays in cooler spots during August. The average maximum daytime temperature in January is 55°F (13°C). The Roman ''ottobrate'' or "beautiful October days" are known as sunny and warm days. Mean annual precipitation is 31 inches (790mm).
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Padua has a [[Mediterranean climate]]. The average maximum [[temperature]] in July is around 84°F (29°C), and can be hot, humid, and somewhat energy-sapping. The average maximum daytime temperature in January is 45°F (7°C). January, February and March are the months with the least [[rain]]fall, so days can be crisp and stunning (if there's no fog). Mean annual precipitation is 26 inches (677 mm).
  
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Rivers and canals
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The city center is surrounded by the 11 km-long city walls, built during the early 16th century. There are only a few ruins left, together with two gates, of the smaller and inner thirteenth century walls. There is also a [[castle]], the Castello. Its main tower was transformed between 1767 and 1777 into an [[astronomy|astronomical]] observatory known as ''Specola'', and the other buildings were used as [[prison]]s during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In the surrounding district are numerous noble villas.
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Size – land area, size comparison
 
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Environmental issues
 
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Districts
 
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
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{{quote|For the great desire I had to see<br />fair Padua, nursery of arts, I am arrived…<br />and am to Padua come, as he that leaves<br />a shallow plash to plunge in the deep, and<br />with satiety seeks to quench his thirst.|[[William Shakespeare]]}}{{citequote}} Padua blew up in march 1462 due to a volcanoe eruption that covered the city with ash.
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[[Image:Kathedrale und Baptisterium.JPG|right|thumb|250px|The Cathedral of Padua.]]
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[[Image:SebastianSemitecolo.jpg|thumb|right|250px|This [[tempera]], ''Two Christians before the Judges,'' hangs in the city's [[cathedral]].]]
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[[Image:Chiesa san gaetano Padova.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Façade of the church of San Gaetano Thiene, (1574-86) by [[Vincenzo Scamozzi]]]]
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[[Image:Santa Sofia Padova apse.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The apse area of Santa Sofia.]]
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The central location and numerous [[river]]s has meant that the area around Padua has been inhabited since the earliest times. Patavium, as Padua was known by the [[Roman Republic|Romans]], according to legend, was founded in 1183 B.C.E. by the [[troy|Trojan]] prince [[Antenor]], who was supposed to have led the people of Eneti or Veneti from [[Paphlagonia]] to Italy. Patavium was inhabited by [[Adriatic Veneti|(Adriatic) Veneti]], famed for their excellent [[horse]]s and [[wool]].  
  
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===Antiquity===
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The city was a Roman ''[[municipium]]'' since 45 B.C.E., and became so powerful that it was reportedly able to raise 200,000 fighting men. The Roman historian [[Livy]] was born near there in 59 B.C.E..E.
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Padua claims to be the oldest city in northern Italy. According to a tradition dated at least to [[Virgil]]'s [[Aeneid]], and rediscovered by the medieval commune to glorify itself, it was founded in 1183 B.C.E. by the [[troy|Trojan]] prince [[Antenor]], who was supposed to have led the people of Eneti or Veneti from [[Paphlagonia]] to Italy. The city exhumed a large stone sarcophagus in the year 1274 and declared these to represent Antenor's relics.
 
  
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Patavium, as Padua was known by the [[Roman Republic|Romans]], was inhabited by [[Adriatic Veneti|(Adriatic) Veneti]]. They were reputed for their excellent breed of horses and the wool of their sheep.  Its men fought for the Romans at [[Cannae]]. The city was a Roman ''[[municipium]]'' since 45 B.C.E. (os 43. It became so powerful that it was reportedly able to raise two hundred thousand fighting men. [[Abano]], which is nearby, is the birthplace of the reputed historian [[Livy]]. Padua was also the birthplace of [[Gaius Valerius Flaccus|Valerius Flaccus]], [[Asconius Pedianus]] and [[Thrasea Paetus]].
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The area is said to have been [[Christian]]ized by [[Saint Prosdocimus]] (died 100 C.E.), who is venerated as the first bishop of the city.
  
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The area is said to have been Christianized by [[Saint Prosdocimus]]. He is venerated as the first bishop of the city.
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The [[Hun]]s under [[Attila]] invaded Padua in 452, [[Goths|Gothic]] kings [[Odoacer]] (435–493), and [[Theodoric the Great]] (454–526) controlled the city. During the Gothic War (535–552), it submitted to the [[Byzantine Empire|Greek]]s in 540. The city was seized again by the Goths under [[Totila]], but was restored to the Eastern Empire by [[Narses]] in 568.  
  
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===Late Antiquity===
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Padua fell under [[Lombard]] control. In 601, the city rose in revolt, against [[Agilulf]], the Lombard king, who besieged the city for 12 years before storming and burning it. The Padua of antiquity was destroyed. All that remain of Roman Padua are the remains of an amphitheater (the ''Arena'') and some [[bridge]] foundations.
  
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The history of Padua after [[Late Antiquity]] follows the course of events common to most cities of north-eastern Italy.  
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At the [[Diet of Aix-la-Chapelle]], in 828, the duchy and [[Marches|march of Friuli]], in which Padua lay, was divided into four counties, one of which took its title from the city of Padua.[[Hungarian people|Magyar]]s sacked the city in 899.  
  
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Padua, in common with north-eastern Italy, suffered severely from the invasion of the [[Hun]]s under [[Attila]] (452). It then passed under the [[Goths|Gothic]] kings [[Odoacer]] and [[Theodoric the Great]]. However during the [[Gothic War (535–552)|Gothic War]] it submitted to the [[Byzantine Empire|Greek]]s in 540. The city was seized again by the Goths under [[Totila]], but was restored to the Eastern Empire by [[Narses]] in 568.  
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At the beginning of the eleventh century, Paduans established a constitution, set up a legislative assembly, and a ''credenza,'' or executive body. During the next century, Padua fought Venice and Vicenza for the right to use the Bacchiglione and the Brenta waterways.  
  
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It then fell under the control of the [[Lombards]]. In 601, the city rose in revolt, against [[Agilulf]], the Lombard king. After suffering a long (12 years) and bloody siege, it was stormed and burned by him. The Padua of Antiquity was annihilated: the remains of an amphitheater (the ''Arena'') and some bridge foundations are all that remain of Roman Padua today. The townspeople fled to the hills and returned to eke out a living among the ruins; the ruling class abandoned the city for Laguna, according to a chronicle. The city did not easily recover from this blow, and Padua was still weak when the [[Franks]] succeeded the Lombards as masters of northern Italy.
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The great families of [[Camposampiero]], [[Este]], and [[Da Romano]] began to emerge and to divide the Paduan district among themselves. The citizens elected a [[podestà]], a chief magistrate, from the Este family.  
  
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===Frankish and episcopal supremacy===
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Padua belonged to the [[Lombard League]], an alliance formed around 1167, which included most of the cities of northern [[Italy]]. A fire devastated Padua in 1174, requiring reconstruction of the city.
  
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At the [[Diet of Aix-la-Chapelle]] (828), the duchy and [[Marches|march of Friuli]], in which Padua lay, was divided into four counties, one of which took its title from the city of Padua.
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In 1236, [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] established his ally, the infamous and cruel tyrant [[Ezzelino III da Romano]] (1194–1259) in Padua and the neighboring cities. Ezzelino was unseated in June 1256.
  
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During the period of [[Roman Catholic Church|episcopal]] supremacy over the cities of northern Italy, Padua does not appear to have been either very important or very active. The general tendency of its policy throughout the [[war of investitures]] was Imperial and not Roman; and its bishops were, for the most part, Germans.
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Padua then enjoyed a period of [[peace]] and prosperity. Work on the basilica of St. Anthony was begun, the [[University of Padua|university]] (the third in Italy) was founded in 1222, and the city exhumed a large stone sarcophagus in the year 1274 and declared it to represent the relics of Trojan prince Antenor.
  
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The main event of the High Middle Ages was the sack of the city by the [[Hungarian people|Magyar]]s in 899. It was many years before Padua recovered from this ravage.
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Padua's growth brought conflict with [[Can Grande della Scala]] (1291–1329), the lord of Verona, and in 1311, Padua yielded to Verona.  
  
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===Emergence of the commune===
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[[Jacopo da Carrara]] was elected lord of Padua in 1318, and to 1405, nine members of the [[Carraresi]] family succeeded one another as lords of the city. The Carraresi period was variously described as a golden age and a period of restlessness, for the Carraresi were constantly at war. In 1387, [[John Hawkwood]] won the  [[Battle of Castagnaro]] for [[Padova]], against [[Giovanni Ordelaffi]], for [[Verona]].
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Under the surface, several important movements were taking place that were to prove formative for the later development of Padua.
 
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At the beginning of the 11th century the citizens established a constitution, composed of a general council or legislative assembly and a ''credenza'' or executive body.
 
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During the next century they were engaged in wars with Venice and Vicenza for the right of water-way on the Bacchiglione and the Brenta. This meant that the city grew in power and self-reliance.
 
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The great families of [[Camposampiero]], [[Este]] and [[Da Romano]] began to emerge and to divide the Paduan district among themselves. The citizens, in order to protect their liberties, were obliged to elect a [[podestà]]. Their choice first fell on one of the Este family.
 
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A fire devastated Padua in 1174. This required the virtual rebuilding of the city.
 
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[[Image:Kathedrale und Baptisterium.JPG|left|thumb|The Cathedral of Padua]]
 
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The temporary success of the [[Lombard League]] helped to strengthen the towns. However their civic jealousy soon reduced them to weakness again. As a result, in 1236 [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] found little difficulty in establishing his tyrannical vicar [[Ezzelino da Romano]] in Padua and the neighbouring cities, where he practised frightful cruelties on the inhabitants. Ezzelino was unseated in June 1256 without civilian bloodshed, thanks to [[Pope Alexander IV]].
 
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Padua then enjoyed a period of calm and prosperity: the basilica of the saint was begun; and the Paduans became masters of Vicenza. The [[University of Padua|university]] (the third in Italy) was founded in 1222, and it flourished in the 1200s.
 
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However the advances of Padua in the 13th century finally brought them into conflict with [[Can Grande della Scala]], lord of Verona. In 1311 Padua had to yield to Verona.
 
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[[Jacopo da Carrara]] was elected lord of Padua in 1318. From then till 1405, nine members of the enlightened [[Carraresi]] family succeeded one another as lords of the city, with the exception of a brief period of [[Scaligeri]] overlordship between 1328 and 1337 and two years (1388-1390) when [[Giangaleazzo Visconti]] held the town. The Carraresi period was a long period of restlessness, for the Carraresi were constantly at war. In 1387 [[John Hawkwood]] won the  [[Battle of Castagnaro]] for [[Padova]], against [[Giovanni Ordelaffi]], for [[Verona]].
 
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The Carraresi period finally came to an end as power of the Visconti and of Venice grew in importance.
 
  
 
===Venetian rule===
 
===Venetian rule===
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Padua passed to Venetian control in 1405, and remained thus until the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797, apart from a brief period when the city changed hands (in 1509) during the wars of the [[League of Cambray]]. Two Venetian nobles, a podestà for civil and a captain for military affairs, each elected for 16 months, governed the city. Two chamberlains managed the treasury, and every five years the Paduans sent a noble to reside as [[nuncio]] in Venice, and to watch over Padua's interests. Venice fortified Padua with new walls, built between 1507 and 1544, including a series of monumental [[gate]]s.  
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Padua passed under Venetian rule in 1405, and so mostly remained until the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797.
 
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There was just a brief period when the city changed hands (in 1509) during the wars of the [[League of Cambray]]. On 10 December 1508, representatives of the Papacy, France, the Holy Roman Empire, and [[Ferdinand I of Spain]] concluded the League of Cambrai against the Republic.  The agreement provided for the complete dismemberment of Venice's territory in Italy and for its partition among the signatories: [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I]] of the Habsburg, was to receive [[Padua]] in addition to [[Verona]] and other territories. In 1509 Padua was taken for just a few weeks by Imperial supporters.  Venetian troops quickly recovered it and successfully defended Padua during siege by Imperial troops. See the [[Siege of Padua]] page.
 
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The city was governed by two Venetian nobles, a podestà for civil and a captain for military affairs. Each was elected for sixteen months. Under these governors, the great and small councils continued to discharge municipal business and to administer the Paduan law, contained in the statutes of 1276 and 1362. The treasury was managed by two chamberlains; and every five years the Paduans sent one of their nobles to reside as [[nuncio]] in Venice, and to watch the interests of his native town.  
 
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Venice fortified Padua with new walls, built between 1507 and 1544, with a series of monumental gates.
 
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[[Image:Padova-channel.jpg|thumb|right|Tronco Maestro Riviera: a pedestrian walk along a section of the "inland waterway" or ''naviglio interno'' of Padua.]]
 
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[[Image:Palazzo della Ragione Padua Fassade.jpg|thumb|Palazzo della Ragione.]]
 
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[[Image:SebastianSemitecolo.jpg|thumb|This [[tempera]], ''Two Christians before the Judges'', hangs in the city's [[cathedral]].]]
 
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[[Image:Chiesa san gaetano Padova.jpg|thumb|Façade of the church of San Gaetano Thiene, (1574-86) by [[Vincenzo Scamozzi]]]]
 
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[[Image:Santa Sofia Padova apse.jpg|thumb|The apse area of Santa Sofia.]]
 
  
 
===Austrian rule===
 
===Austrian rule===
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In 1797, the [[Treaty of Campo Formio]] ended the Venetian Republic, and Padua was ceded to the [[Austrian Empire]]. After the fall of [[Napoleon]], in 1814, the city became part of the [[Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia]]. Padua began its industrial development, and one of the first Italian rail tracks, Padua-Venice, was built in 1845.
  
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In 1797 the Venetian Republic was wiped off the map by the [[Treaty of Campo Formio]], and Padua was ceded to the Austrian Empire. After the fall of [[Napoleon]], in 1814, the city became part of the [[Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia]].
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In Padua in 1848, in the year of revolutions, students revolted on February 8, turning the university and the [[Pedrocchi Café|Caffè Pedrocchi]] into battlegrounds in which students and Paduans fought side by side.
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The Austrians were unpopular with progressive circles in northern Italy. In Padua, [[Revolution of 1848|the year of revolutions of 1848]] saw a student revolt which on February 8 turned the University and the [[Pedrocchi Café|Caffè Pedrocchi]] into battlegrounds in which students and ordinary Paduans fought side by side.
 
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Under Austrian rule, Padua began its industrial development; one of the first Italian rail tracks, Padua-Venice, was built in 1845.
 
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In 1866 the [[battle of Koniggratz]] gave Italy the opportunity to push the Austrians out of the old Venetian republic as Padua and the rest of the [[Veneto]] were annexed to the recently united [[unification of Italy|Kingdom of Italy]].
 
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===Italian rule===
 
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Annexed to [[Italy]] during 1866, Padua was at the centre of the poorest area of [[Northern Italy]], as [[Veneto]] was until 1960s. Despite this, the city flourished in the following decades both economically and socially, developing its industry, being an important agricultural market and having a very important cultural and technological centre as the University. The city hosted also a major military command and many regiments.
 
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===The 20th century===
 
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When Italy entered the [[Great War]] on 24th May 1915, Padua was chosen as the main command of the [[Italian Army]]. The king, Vittorio Emanuele III, and the commander in chief Cadorna went to live in Padua for the war period. After the defeat of Italy in the battle of [[Caporetto]] in autumn 1917, the front line was situated on the river Piave. This was just 50-60km from Padua, and the city was now in range from the Austrian artillery. However the Italian military command did not withdraw. The city was bombed several times (about 100 civilian deaths). A memorable feat was [[Gabriele D'Annunzio]]'s flight to [[Vienna]] from the nearby San Pelagio Castle air field.
 
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A year later, the danger to Padua was removed. In late October 1918, the Italian Army won the decisive battle of [[Vittorio Veneto]] (exactly a year after Caporetto), and the Austrian forces collapsed. The armistice was signed in Padua, at Villa Giusti, on 3rd November 1918, with [[Austria-Hungary]] surrendering to Italy.
 
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During the war, industry progressed strongly, and this gave Padua a base for further post-war development. In the years immediately following the Great War, Padua developed outside the historical town, enlarging and growing in population. even if labor and social strife was rampant at the time.
 
  
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As in many other areas in Italy and abroad, Padua experienced great social turmoil in the years immediately following the Great War. The city was swept by strikes and clashes, factories and fields were subject to occupation, and war veterans struggled to re-enter civilian life. Many supported a new political way: [[Fascism]]. As in other parts of Italy, the fascist party in Padua soon came to be seen as the defender of property and order against revolution. The city was also the site of one of the largest fascist mass rallies, with some 300,000 people reportedly attending one Mussolini speech.  
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In 1866, in the [[Battle of Koniggratz]], Italy pushed the Austrians out of the old Venetian republic as Padua and the rest of the [[Veneto]] joined the new [[Kingdom of Italy]]. Despite being at the center of the poorest area of [[Northern Italy]], the city flourished. It was an important agricultural market, the university was a cultural and technological center, the city hosted a major military command and numerous regiments, and industry developed.
  
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New buildings, in typical [[fascist architecture]], sprang up in the city. Examples can be found today in the buildings surrounding Piazza Spalato (today Piazza Insurrezione), the railway station, the new part of City Hall, and part of the Bo Palace hosting the University.
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===World War I===
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When Italy entered [[World War I]] (1914-1918) on May 24, 1915, Padua became the command center of the [[Italian Army]]. The king, [[Vittorio Emanuele III]], and the commander in chief Cadorna lived there during the war. After Italy lost the battle of [[Caporetto]] in October 1917, the front line was situated just 50-60km from Padua, within range of the [[Austria]]n artillery. The [[city]] was bombed several times (incurring about 100 civilian deaths). A memorable feat was [[Gabriele D'Annunzio]]'s flight to [[Vienna]] from the nearby San Pelagio Castle air field. Austrian forces collapsed after the battle of [[Vittorio Veneto]] in October 1918, and the armistice was signed in Padua on November 3, 1918, with [[Austria-Hungary]] surrendering to Italy.
  
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Following Italy's defeat in the [[Second World War]] on 8th September 1943, Padua became part of the [[Italian Social Republic]], i.e., the puppet state of the Nazi occupiers. The city hosted the Ministry of Public Instruction of the new state, as well as military and militia commands and a military airport. The Resistenza, the Italian partisans, was very active against both the new fascist rule and the Nazis. One of the main leaders was the University vice-chancellor Concetto Marchesi.  
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During the war, industry progressed strongly, and this gave Padua a base for further post-war development. In the years immediately following the Great War, Padua developed outside the historical town.  
  
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Padua was bombed several times by Allied planes. The worst hit areas were the railway station and the northern district of Arcella. During one of these bombings, the beautiful Eremitani church, with [[Mantegna]] frescoes, was destroyed (considered by some art historians to be Italy's biggest wartime cultural loss).  
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But strikes and clashes swept Padua as war veterans struggled to re-enter civilian life. The [[Fascism|Fascist]] party came to be seen as the defender of property and order against revolution, and Padua was the site of one of the largest Fascist rallies, when 300,000 people attended one [[Mussolini]] speech. Buildings surrounding Piazza Spalato, the railway station, the new part of City Hall, and part of the Bo Palace hosting the university, were constructed in the Fascist style of architecture.
  
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The city was finally liberated by partisans and British troops on 28th April 1945. A small [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] War Cemetery is in the west part of the city, to remember the sacrifice of these troops.
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===World War II===
 +
After Italy's defeat in [[World War II]] (1939-1945) on September 8, 1943, Padua became part of the [[Italian Social Republic]], a [[Nazism|Nazi]] puppet state. The city hosted the Ministry of Public Instruction of the new state, as well as military and militia commands and a military airport. The Resistenza, the Italian partisans, was active against both the new Fascist rule and the Nazis.  
  
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After the war, the city developed rapidly, reflecting Veneto's rise from being the poorest region in northern Italy to one of the richest and most active regions of modern Italy.
+
Padua was bombed several times by Allied planes. The worst hit areas were the railway station and the northern district of Arcella. During one of these bombings, the beautiful Eremitani Church, with [[Mantegna]] [[fresco]]es, was destroyed. Some art historians considered this to be Italy's biggest wartime cultural loss. Partisans and British troops liberated the city on April 28, 1945.
  
 
==Government==
 
==Government==
 
[[Italy]] is a republic in which the president is chief of state who is elected by an electoral college for a seven-year term. The prime minister, who is head of government, is appointed by the president and confirmed by parliament. The bicameral ''Parlamento'' consists of a senate of 315 members, and the chamber of deputies of 630 members, both houses elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms.
 
[[Italy]] is a republic in which the president is chief of state who is elected by an electoral college for a seven-year term. The prime minister, who is head of government, is appointed by the president and confirmed by parliament. The bicameral ''Parlamento'' consists of a senate of 315 members, and the chamber of deputies of 630 members, both houses elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms.
  
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==Economy==
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Padua is a city, or ''comune,'' in the [[Veneto]] region of northern [[Italy], one of Italy's 20 regions, of which [[Venice]] is the capital.
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Padua is an important rail and road junction.
 
  
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Per capita GDP, rank
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Italy's 100 provinces have their own local elections. Each province has a prefect who is appointed by and responds to the central government, which he locally represents.
−
Financial and business services sector
 
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Tourism
 
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Manufacturing involves electrical and agricultural machinery, motorcycles, chemicals, and artificial and synthetic textiles.
 
  
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Transport: Road, rail, air, sea
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The ''comune'' provides many basic [[civil]] functions. It has a [[registry]] of [[birth]]s and [[death]]s, a [[registry of deeds]], and it contracts for local [[road]]s and [[public works]]. It is headed by a mayor ''(sindaco)'' assisted by a [[council]] of [[aldermen]], the ''Consiglio Comunale''. The offices of the ''comune'' are housed in a building usually called the ''Municipio,'' or ''Palazzo Comunale''.
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The industrial area of Padua was created in 1946, in the east part of the city, to become one of the biggest industrial zones in Europe, it has an area of 11 milion sqm. Here there are the main offices of 1300 industries and works 50.000 people from all over the world. In Padua there's the biggest intermodal centre in Italy. From each part of Europe the goods arrive in Padua, where they are send in all over the world, especially in Asia. In the industrial zone there are 2 train stations, 1 fluvial port, three truck terminals, 2 highway exits and a lot of connected services, hotels, post offices, directional centre.
 
  
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===Transport===
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==Economy==
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By [[car]], there are 3 [[motorways]] (autostrade in Italian): A4 Brescia-Padova, connecting it to Verona (then to [[Brenner Pass]], [[Innsbruck]] and [[Bavaria]]) and [[Milan]] (then [[Switzerland]], [[Turin]] and [[France]]); A4 Padova-Venezia, to [[Venice]] then [[Belluno]] (for [[Dolomites]] holiday resorts like [[Cortina]]) [[Trieste]] and [[Tarvisio]] (for [[Austria]], [[Slovenia]], [[Croatia]] and [[Eastern Europe]]); A13 Bologna-Padova, to [[Ferrara]] and [[Bologna]] (then [[Central Italy| Central]] and [[South Italy]]). You have to pay a toll to use the most part of Italian motorways. Roads connect Padua with all the big and small centers of the region. A [[freeway]] with more than 20 exit surrounds the city, connecting districts and the small towns of the hinterland.
 
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Padua has many train stations. The largest is Padova Centrale, with 16 platforms, and is one of the biggest stations in Italy. From Padova leaves more than 450 trains per day. The station is attended by over than 20 millions passengers per year. Other train stations are Padova Ponte di Brenta, Padova San Lazzaro, Padova Campo Marte. From Padova leaves a High speed train to Milan and Venice, you can reach Milan in 1h and 51 min and Venice in 20 min. From Padova you can reach these national destinations:
 
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Padua is relatively close to airports at [[Venice]], [[Verona]], [[Treviso]] and [[Bologna]]. The Padua airport, the "[[Padua Airport|Gino Allegri]]" or ''Aeroporto civile di Padova "Gino Allegri"'', or ''Aeroporto di Padova'', is no longer served by regularly scheduled flights. Padua is, however, the home of one of Italy's four [[Area Control Centers]].
 
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[[Venice]], approximately 50&nbsp;km away, is the nearest seaport.
 
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Urban public transport includes public [[bus]]es together with a new [[tram]]way line (connecting southern district of Guizza to train station then to northern district of Arcella - with another three lines yet to be built) and private [[Taxicab|taxis]]. There's also a CitySightseeing tour Hop on Hop Off.
 
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The centre of the city is partly closed to vehicles, except for residents and permitted vehicles. There are some car parks surrounding the district. In this area, as well, there are some streets and squares restricted to pedestrian and bicycle use only.
 
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Padua has got approximately 40 bus lines, which are served by new buses, 1 years old, with a television that displays the line plan, the next stop, the most important monuments and the connection line and the expected waiting time for each line. Each tram/bus is equipped with security cameras and controlled by [[GPS]].
 
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The Veneto Region is building in Padua a metro line around the city with 15 new stations, the name will be SFMR and included the province of Venice.
 
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==Demographics==
 
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In 2007, there were 210,301 people residing in Padua, located in the province of Padua, [[Veneto]], of whom 47.1% were male and 52.9% were female. Minors (children ages 18 and younger) totalled 14.87 percent of the population compared to pensioners who number 23.72 percent. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06 percent (minors) and 19.94 percent (pensioners). The average age of Padua residents is 45 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Padua grew by 2.21 percent, while [[Italy]] as a whole grew by 3.85 percent.[http://demo.istat.it/bil2007/index.html] The current birth rate of Padua is 8.49 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births.
 
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As of 2006, 90.66% of the population was [[Italian people|Italian]]. The largest immigrant group comes from other [[Europe]]an nations (the largest being [[Romanians]], [[Moldovans]], and [[Albanians]]): 5.14%, [[sub-saharan Africa]] 1.08%, and [[East Asia]]: 1.04%. Currently 1 in 5 babies born in Padua has a foreign parent. The city is predominantly [[Roman Catholic]], but due to immigration now has some [[Orthodox Christian]], [[Muslim]] and [[Hindu]] followers.[http://demo.istat.it/str2006/index.html][http://demo.istat.it/pop2006/index.html]
 
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==Main sights==
 
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*The [[Scrovegni Chapel]] (Italian: ''Cappella degli Scrovegni'') is Padua's most famous sight.  It houses a remarkable cycle of frescoes completed in 1305 by [[Giotto]].  It was Commissioned by [[Enrico degli Scrovegni]], a wealthy banker, as a private chapel once attached to his family's palazzo. It is also called the "Arena Chapel" because it stands on the site of a Roman-era arena.  The fresco cycle details the life of the [[Virgin Mary]] and has been acknowledged by many to be one of the most important fresco cycles in the world.  Entrance to the chapel is an elaborate ordeal, as it involves spending 15 minutes prior to entrance in a climate-controlled, airlocked vault, used to stabilize the temperature between the outside world and the inside of the chapel.  This is to improve preservation. Book ahead if planning a visit.
 
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*The ''[[Palazzo della Ragione]]'', with its great hall on the upper floor, is reputed to have the largest roof unsupported by columns in Europe; the hall is nearly rectangular, its length 81.5 m, its breadth 27 m, and its height 24 m; the walls are covered with [[allegory|allegorical]] [[fresco]]es; the building stands upon arches, and the upper storey is surrounded by an open loggia, not unlike that which surrounds the basilica of [[Vicenza]]. The Palazzo was begun in 1172 and finished in 1219. In 1306 Fra Giovanni, an Augustinian friar, covered the whole with one roof. Originally there were three roofs, spanning the three chambers into which the hall was at first divided; the internal partition walls remained till the fire of 1420, when the Venetian architects who undertook the restoration removed them, throwing all three spaces into one and forming the present great hall, the ''Salone''. The new space was refrescoed by Nicolo' Miretto and Stefano da Ferrara, working from 1425 to 1440. Beneath the great hall, there is a centuries-old market.
 
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*In the Piazza dei Signori is the beautiful loggia called the ''Gran Guardia'', (1493 - 1526), and close by is the ''Palazzo del Capitanio'', the residence of the Venetian governors, with its great door, the work of [[Giovanni Maria Falconetto]], the Veronese architect-sculptor who introduced [[Italian Renaissance|Renaissance architecture]] to Padua and who completed the door in 1532. Falconetto was the architect of [[Alvise Cornaro]]'s garden loggia, (''Loggia Cornaro''), the first fully Renaissance building in Padua [http://www.boglewood.com/cornaro/xloggia.html]. Nearby, the Cathedral,  remodelled in 1552 after a design of [[Michelangelo]]. It contains works by Nicolò Semitecolo, [[Francesco Bassano]] and Giorgio Schiavone. The nearby Baptistry, consecrated in 1281, houses the most important frescoes cycle by [[Giusto de' Menabuoi]].
 
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[[Image:Padua9.jpg|thumb|The [[Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua]].]]
 
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[[Image:Padua5.jpg|thumb|The Basilica of St. Giustina, facing the great ''piazza'' of Prato della Valle.]]
 
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*The most famous of the Paduan churches is the ''[[Basilica di Sant'Antonio da Padova]]'', locally simply known as "Il Santo". The bones of the saint rest in a chapel richly ornamented with carved marbles, the work of various artists, among them of [[Jacopo Sansovino|Sansovino]] and Falconetto. The basilica was begun about the year 1230 and completed in the following century. Tradition says that the building was designed by [[Nicola Pisano]]. It is covered by seven cupolas, two of them pyramidal. There are also four beautiful cloisters to visit. Sant'Antonio is treated as [[Vatican City|Vatican]] territory.{{fact|date=June 2007}}
 
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*[[Donatello]]'s magnificent [[Gattamelata|equestrian statue]] of the Venetian general Gattamelata ([[Erasmo of Narni|Erasmo da Narni]]) can be found on the piazza in front of the ''[[Basilica di Sant'Antonio da Padova]]''. It was cast in 1453, and was the first full-size [[Equestrian sculpture|equestrian]] bronze cast since antiquity. It was inspired by the [[Marcus Aurelius]] [[Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius|equestrian sculpture]] at the [[Capitoline Hill]] in [[Rome]].
 
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*Not far from the Gattamelata statue are the St. George Oratory (13th century), with frescoes by [[Altichiero]], and the ''Scuola di S. Antonio'' (16th century), with frescoes by [[Tiziano]] ([[Titian]]).
 
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*One of the best known symbols of Padua is the ''[[Prato della Valle]]'', a 90,000 m² elliptical square. This is believed to be the biggest in Europe, after Red Square in Moscow. In the centre is a wide garden surrounded by a ditch, which is lined by 78 statues portraying famous citizens.
 
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*The abbey and the basilica of ''Santa Giustina''.  In the 15th century, it became one of the most important monasteries in the area, until it was suppressed by Napoleon in 1810. In 1919 it was reopened. The tombs of several saints are housed in the interior, including those of Justine, [[St. Prosdocimus]], St. Maximus, St. Urius, St. Felicita, St. Julianus, as well as relics of the Apostle St. Matthias and the Evangelist [[St. Luke]]. This is home to some art, including the ''Martyrdom of St. Justine'' by [[Paolo Veronese]]. The complex was founded in the 5th century on the tomb of the namesake saint, [[Justine of Padua]].
 
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*The [[Church of the Eremitani]] is an Augustinian church of the 13th century, containing the tombs of Jacopo (1324) and [[Ubertinello]] (1345) da Carrara, lords of Padua, and for the chapel of SS James and Christopher, formerly illustrated by [[Mantegna]]'s frescoes. This was largely destroyed by the Allies in [[World War II]], because it was next to the Nazi headquarters. The old monastery of the church now houses the municipal art gallery.
 
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*''Santa Sofia'' is most likely Padova's most ancient church. The crypt was begun in the late 10th century by Venetian craftsmen. It has a basilica plan with Romanesque-Gothic interior and Byzantine elements. The apse was built in the 12th century. The edifice appears to be tilting slightly due to the soft terrain.
 
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*The church of ''San Gaetano'' (1574-1586) was designed by [[Vincenzo Scamozzi]], on an unusual octagonal plan. The interior, decorated with polychrome marbles, houses a precious ''Madonna and Child'' by [[Andrea Briosco]], in Nanto stone.
 
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*At the centre of the historical city, the buildings of Palazzo del Bò, the centre of the University
 
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*The City Hall, called Palazzo Moroni, the wall of which is covered by the names of the Paduan deads in the different wars of Italy and which is attached to Palazzo della Ragione;
 
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*The [[Pedrocchi Café|Caffé Pedrocchi]], built in 1831 by architect [[Giuseppe Jappelli]] in [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassical  style]] with Egyptian influence. This is a little jewel of history and art for a café open for almost two centuries. It hosts the [[Risorgimento]] museum, and the near building of the ''Pedrocchino'' ("little Pedrocchi") in [[Gothic Revival|neogothic style]].
 
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*The city centre is surrounded by the 11km-long city walls, built during the early sixteenth century, by architects that included [[Michele Sanmicheli]]. There are only a few ruins left, together with two gates, of the smaller and inner thirteenth-century walls. There is also a castle, the Castello. Its main tower was transformed between 1767 and 1777 into an astronomical observatory known as ''Specola''. However the other buildings were used as prisons during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. They are now being restored.
 
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In the neighbourhood of Padua are numerous noble villas. These include:
 
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*''[[Villa Molin]]'', in the Mandria fraction, designed by [[Vincenzo Scamozzi]] in 1597.
 
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*''[[Villa Mandiriola]]'', (17th century), at [[Albignasego]]
 
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*''Villa Pacchierotti-Trieste ''(17th century), at Limena
 
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*''Villa Cittadella-Vigodarzere'' (19th century), at Saonara
 
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*''Villa Selvatico da Porto ''(15th-18th century), at [[Vigonza]]
 
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*''Villa Loredan'', at Sant'Urbano.
 
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*''[[Villa Contarini]]'', at Piazzola sul Brenta, built in 1546 by [[Palladio]] and enlarged in the following centuries, is the most important.
 
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==Culture==
 
 
{{Infobox World Heritage Site
 
{{Infobox World Heritage Site
 
| WHS        = Botanical Garden (Orto Botanico), Padua
 
| WHS        = Botanical Garden (Orto Botanico), Padua
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| Image      = [[Image:Orto botanico padova.JPG|250px|The Botanical Garden of Padova today; in the background, the Basilica of Sant'Antonio.]]
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| Image      = [[Image:Orto botanico padova.JPG|225px|The Botanical Garden of Padova today; in the background, the Basilica of Sant'Antonio.]]
 
| State Party = {{ITA}}
 
| State Party = {{ITA}}
 
| Type        = Cultural
 
| Type        = Cultural
Line 253: Line 143:
 
| Link        = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/824
 
| Link        = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/824
 
}}
 
}}
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[[Image:Collegio1.jpg|thumb|Antonianum. From its windows students could see St. Giustina.]]
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The Veneto region is one of the major tourist destinations in [[Italy]], attracting some 20 million foreign and 24 million domestic arrivals each year through the variety of [[natural resource|natural]] and [[culture|cultural]] resources it has to offer.
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[[Image:Villa Molin a Mandria (Padova).jpg|thumb|Villa Molin at Mandria.]]
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Padua has long been famous for its [[university of Padua|university]], founded in 1222. Under the rule of Venice the university was governed by a board of three patricians, called the ''Riformatori dello Studio di Padova''. The list of professors and alumni is long and illustrious, containing, among others, the names of [[Pietro Bembo|Bembo]], [[Sperone Speroni]], the anatomist [[Vesalius]], [[Copernicus]], [[Fallopius]], Fabrizio d'Acquapendente, [[Galileo Galilei]], [[Pietro Pomponazzi]], [[Reginald Pole|Reginald, later Cardinal Pole]], [[Joseph Justus Scaliger|Scaliger]], [[Torquato Tasso|Tasso]] and [[Sobieski]]. The university hosts the oldest anatomy theatre (built in 1594)
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Padua is an important rail and road junction, as well as being an agricultural, commercial, and major industrial center. The industrial area of Padua was created in 1946, in the east part of the city, to become one of the biggest industrial zones in [[Europe]]. The main offices of 1,300 industries are here, and 50,000 people from throughout the world work here. The industrial zone alone has two train stations, one port, three truck terminals, two highway exits, and numerous services including hotels, and post offices.
  
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The university also hosts the oldest botanical garden (1545) in the world. The botanical garden [[Orto Botanico di Padova]] was founded as the garden of curative herbs attached to the University's faculty of medicine. It still contains an important collection of rare plants.
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Manufacturing involves electrical and agricultural [[machinery]], motorcycles, [[chemical]]s, and artificial and synthetic [[textile]]s, and processed [[food]].
  
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The place of Padua in the history of art is nearly as important as its place in the history of learning. The presence of the university attracted many distinguished artists, as Giotto, [[Fra Filippo Lippi]] and [[Donatello]]; and for native art there was the school of [[Francesco Squarcione]], whence issued the great [[Mantegna]].
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Padova Centrale is the largest of the city's numerous [[train]] stations. A [[freeway]] with 20 exits surrounds the city, connecting districts and the small towns of the hinterland. Three [[motorways]] radiate from the city. Although the Padua [[airport]] is no longer served by regularly scheduled flights, Padua is relatively close to airports at [[Venice]], [[Verona]], [[Treviso]] and [[Bologna]]. Urban public transport includes [[bus]]es and a new [[tram]]way line. A metro line was planned in 2008. The center of the city is restricted to vehicles owned by residents and permitted vehicles.
  
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Padua is also the birth place of the famous architect [[Andrea Palladio]], whose XVIth century "ville" (country-houses) in the area of Padua, Venice, Vicenza and Treviso are among the most beautiful of Italy, and they were often copied during XVIIIth and XIXth centuries; and of [[Giovanni Battista Belzoni]], adventure-man, engineer and [[egyptologist]].
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==Demographics==
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Padua's population was 212,500 in 2008. The city is sometimes included, with [[Venice]] ([[Italian language|Italian]] ''Venezia''), in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area; population 1,600,000. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Padua grew by 2.21 percent, while [[Italy]] as a whole grew by 3.85 percent.
  
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The famous sculptor [[Antonio Canova]] made his first work in Padua, one among the statues of Prato della Valle (now a copy stays at open air, while the original is in the Musei Civici, Civic Museums).
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As of 2006, 90.66 percent of the population comprised [[Italian people]]. Most immigrants came from other [[Europe]]an nations (mostly [[Romania]]ns, [[Moldova]]ns, and [[Albania]]ns) 5.14 percent, [[sub-saharan Africa]] 1.08 percent, and [[East Asia]] 1.04 percent. [[Italian language|Italian]] is the official [[language]].
  
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One the most relevant places in the life of the city has certainly been The Antonianum. Settled among Prato della Valle, the Saint Anthony church and the botanic Garden it has been built in 1897 by the Jesuit fathers, and kept alive until 2002. During WWII, under the lead of P.Messori Roncaglia SJ, it became the center of the resistance war against the Nazism. Indeed, it briefly survived P.Messori's death, and it was sold by the Jesuits in 2004. Some sites are trying to collect what can still be found of the college: (1) [http://www.antonianum.ionmetrix.com/ a no-profit pixel site] is collecting links to whatever is available on the web; (2) a student association created in the college is still operating and connecting Alumni.
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The city is predominantly [[Roman Catholic]], but immigration has brought [[Orthodox Christian]], [[Muslim]], and [[Hindu]] followers.  
  
 +
The University of Padua, founded in 1222, has a long and illustrious list of professors and alumni, containing, among others, the names of [[Pietro Bembo|Bembo]], [[Sperone Speroni]], the anatomist [[Vesalius]], [[Copernicus]], [[Fallopius]], Fabrizio d'Acquapendente, [[Galileo Galilei]], [[Pietro Pomponazzi]], [[Reginald Pole|Reginald, later Cardinal Pole]], [[Joseph Justus Scaliger|Scaliger]], [[Torquato Tasso|Tasso]], and [[Sobieski]].
  
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==Consulates==
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The [[university]] hosts the oldest [[anatomy]] theater (built in 1594). The university also hosts the oldest [[botanical garden]] (1545) in the world. The botanical garden [[Orto Botanico di Padova]] was founded as the garden of curative [[herb]]s attached to the University's faculty of [[medicine]]. It still contains an important collection of rare [[plant]]s.
  
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In Padua are located the consulates of: [[Canada]], [[Croatia]], [[Ivory Coast]], [[Peru]], [[Poland]], [[Switzerland]] and [[Uruguay]]. [[South Korea]]n consulate is to be opened soon.
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==Society and culture==
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[[Image:CappelladegliScrovegni.jpg|thumb|left|175px|The Scrovegni chapel.]]
  
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Padua is the home of [[Calcio Padova]], a football team that plays in Italy's Serie C1 division, the [[Petrarca Padova]] [[rugby union]] team, and a [[volleyball]] club, once called Petrarca Padova too, which plays in the Italian first division. [[Basketball]], cycling (Padua has been for several years home of the famous [[Giro del Veneto]]), rowing (two teams among the best ones in Italy, Canottieri Padova and Padova Canottaggio), [[horse]]-riding and [[swimming]] are popular sports also. [[Stadio Euganeo]], for [[football]] and athletics, has about 32,000 seats; Stadio Plebiscito for rugby union, has about 9000 seats; Palazzetto dello Sport San Lazzaro for volleyball and basketball, has about 5,000 seats. The [[F1]] racing driver [[Riccardo Patrese]] (vice-champion 1992, 3rd place in 1989 and 1991; holds the world record for having started the most Formula One races) was born and lives in Padova; the racing driver [[Alex Zanardi]] also lives in Padova.
  
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==Sport==
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The place of Padua in the history of art is nearly as important as its place in the history of learning. The university attracted many distinguished artists, such as [[Giotto]], [[Fra Filippo Lippi]], and [[Donatello]]. For native art there was the school of [[Francesco Squarcione]], whence issued the great [[Mantegna]]. Padua is also the birthplace of the architect [[Andrea Palladio]], known for 16th century "ville" (country-houses) built in Padua, Venice, Vicenza and Treviso, and of [[Giovanni Battista Belzoni]], an adventurer, engineer and [[Egyptologist]]. The Antonianum, built in 1897, by the Jesuit fathers, became the center of the resistance against the [[Nazism]] during [[World War II]].
  
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Padua is the home of [[Calcio Padova]], a football team that plays in Italy's Serie C1 division, and who played 16 Serie A championships (last 2 in 1995 and 1996, but the previous 14 between 1929 and 1962); the [[Petrarca Padova]] [[rugby union]] team, winner of 11 national championships between 1970 and 1987; and a [[volleyball]] club, once called Petrarca Padova too, which plays in the Italian first division, and who won a [[CEV cup]] in 1994. Basketball, cycling (Padua has been for several years home of the famous [[Giro del Veneto]]), rowing (two teams among the best ones in Italy, Canottieri Padova and Padova Canottaggio), horse-riding and swimming are popular sports too.
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===Places of interest===
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[[Image:Collegio1.jpg|thumb|right|225px|Antonianum. From its windows students could see St. Giustina.]]
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[[Image:Villa Molin a Mandria (Padova).jpg|thumb|right|225px|Villa Molin at Mandria.]]
 +
[[Image:Padua5.jpg|thumb|right|225px|The Basilica of St. Giustina, facing the great ''piazza'' of Prato della Valle.]]
 +
*The [[Scrovegni Chapel]] (Italian: ''Cappella degli Scrovegni''), which is Padua's most famous sight, houses a cycle of [[frescoe]]s completed in 1305, by [[Giotto]], and stands on the site of a Roman-era arena.  
  
−
The venues of these teams are: [[Stadio Euganeo]] for football and athletic, about 32,000 seats; Stadio Plebiscito for rugby union, about 9,000 seats; Palazzetto dello Sport San Lazzaro for volleyball and basketball, about 5,000 seats; Ippodromo Breda - Le Padovanelle for horse races. The old and glorious Stadio Appiani, which hosted up to 25,000 people, reduced to 10,000 ones for security reasons twenty years ago, and near to Prato della Valle in a central area, is almost abandoned and is to be restored. A small ice stadium for skating and hockey and a new 10,000 places venue for volleyball and basketball are to be built during 2008.
+
*The ''[[Palazzo della Ragione]],'' which with its great hall on the upper floor, is reputed to have the largest roof unsupported by columns in Europe. The hall's length is 81.5 meters, its breadth 27 meters, and its height 24 meters, and the walls are covered with [[allegory|allegorical]] [[fresco]]es. The Palazzo was begun in 1172 and finished in 1219. In 1306 Fra Giovanni, an Augustinian friar, covered the whole with one roof. The internal partition walls remained till the fire of 1420, when Venetian architects removed them, forming the present great hall, the ''Salone''. Beneath the great hall, which is decorated with a cycle of 333 frescoes, there is a centuries-old market.
  
−
The [[F1]] racing driver [[Riccardo Patrese]] (vice-champion 1992, 3rd place in 1989 and 1991; holds the world record for having started the most Formula One races) was born and lives in Padova; the racing driver [[Alex Zanardi]] lives in Padova too.
+
* The ''Palazzo del Capitanio,'' which was the residence of the Venetian governors, with its great door, the work of [[Giovanni Maria Falconetto]], the Veronese architect-sculptor who introduced [[Italian Renaissance|Renaissance architecture]] to Padua.  
−
The [[Bergamasco]] brothers were also born in Padova, as well as [[Bortolami]], of the Italian Rugby national team.
 
  
 +
* The ''[[Basilica di Sant'Antonio da Padova]],'' locally simply known as "Il Santo," which is the most famous Paduan church. The bones of the saint rest in a chapel richly ornamented with carved [[marble]]. [[Donatello]]'s magnificent [[Gattamelata|equestrian statue]] of the Venetian general Gattamelata ([[Erasmo of Narni|Erasmo da Narni]]) can be found on the piazza in front of the ''Basilica di Sant'Antonio da Padova''.
  
 +
* The ''[[Prato della Valle]],'' which is a symbol of Padua, is an elliptical square, believed to be the biggest in [[Europe]], after [[Red Square]] in [[Moscow]].
  
−
==Further reading==
+
* The abbey and the basilica of ''Santa Giustina,'' which was founded in the fifth century on the tomb of the namesake saint, [[Justine of Padua]], is the location of the tombs of several saints—Justine, [[St. Prosdocimus]], St Maximus, St Urius, St Felicita, St Julianus, as well as relics of the Apostle St. Matthias and the Evangelist [[St. Luke]].
 +
 
 +
* The [[Church of the Eremitani]], which is an Augustinian church of the 13th century, and contains the tombs of Jacopo (1324) and [[Ubertinello]] (1345) da Carrara, lords of Padua, and the chapel of saints James and Christopher, formerly illustrated by [[Mantegna]]'s frescoes. This was largely destroyed by the Allies in [[World War II]], because it was next to the Nazi headquarters. The old [[monastery]] of the church now houses the municipal art gallery.
 +
 
 +
* The ''Santa Sofia,'' which is most likely Padua's most ancient church. The crypt was begun in the late tenth century by Venetian craftsmen. It has a basilica plan with Romanesque-Gothic interior and Byzantine elements. The apse was built in the twelfth century.
 +
 
 +
* The church of ''San Gaetano'' (1574-1586), which was designed by [[Vincenzo Scamozzi]] on an unusual octagonal plan. The interior, decorated with polychrome marble, houses a precious ''Madonna and Child'' by [[Andrea Briosco]], in Nanto stone.
 +
 
 +
* The [[Pedrocchi Café|Caffé Pedrocchi]], built in 1831 by architect [[Giuseppe Jappelli]] in [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassical style]] with Egyptian influence. This is a little jewel of history and art for a café open for almost two centuries. It hosts the [[Risorgimento]] museum, and the near building of the ''Pedrocchino'' ("little Pedrocchi") in [[Gothic Revival|neogothic style]].
 +
 
 +
==Looking to the future==
 +
[[Image:Padua9.jpg|thumb|right|225px|The Basilica of [[Saint Anthony of Padua]].]]
 +
Standing on a history of nearly 3,000 years, Padua's position in the history of art is nearly as important as its place in the history of learning. The [[University of Padua]], founded in 1222, the [[World Heritage Site]] [[Orto Botanico di Padova]] first developed in 1545, the Palazzo della Ragione, with its huge unsupported roof, the Scrovegni Chapel, and the Basilica di Sant'Antonio, which holds the remains of [[Saint Anthony of Padua]] and many other notable sights, continue to attract a steady flow more than 40 million visitors annually. [[Tourism]] alone could guarantee a sound [[economics|economy]] for Padua. The city also has one of the largest industrial zones in [[Europe]], and is an important [[railroad]] and [[highway]] junction.
 +
 
 +
==References==
 +
* Chierichetti, Sandro. 1973. ''Padua; an Illustrated Guide-Book with Plans of the Monuments''. Padua: B. Facchinelli. OCLC 1047092.
 +
* Gasparotto, Cesira. 1981. ''Padua: City of Saint Anthony''. Venezia: Edizioni Storti. OCLC 56106326.
 +
* Kohl, Benjamin G. 2001. ''Culture and Politics in Early Renaissance Padua''. Aldershot, Hampshire: Ashgate. ISBN 9780860788713.
 +
* Lumley, Robert, and John Foot. 2004. ''Italian Cityscapes: Culture and Urban Change in Contemporary Italy''. Exeter, UK: University of Exeter Press. ISBN 9780859897372.
 +
* Maret, Russell. 2008. ''Mediaeval in Padua''. New York: Russell Maret. OCLC 251491396.
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
−
*[http://www.padovanet.it/ City of Padua Official Website]
+
All links retrieved November 18, 2022.
−
*[http://www.basilicadelsanto.org/ing/home.asp The Basilica of St Anthony in Padua]
+
*[http://www.unipd.it/en/ University of Padova]
−
*[http://www.genovesato.it/smeraldi/fotopadova.shtml Photographs of Padua]
+
 
−
*[http://www.unipd.it/en/ University Of Padova]
 
−
*[http://www.lnl.infn.it/%7Esirr99/teatro.htm Anatomical Theater at the university of Padua]
 
−
*[http://www.ortobotanico.unipd.it/ University Botanical Garden]
 
−
*[http://www.sitiunesco.it/index.phtml?id=657 Padova as a city protected by [[UNESCO]]]
 
−
*[http://mappe.regioneveneto.net/node/4 Map of Padua]
 
−
*[http://wikitravel.org/en/Padua Wikitravel Entry on Padua]
 
−
*[http://www.webvisionitaly.com/category.php?id=295 Video Introduction to Padua includes Scrovegni Chapel, Il Santo, and Prato della Valle]
 
−
*[http://www.intheworld.travel/Activities/ActivitiesSearch/Results/tabid/90/CountryCode/IT/AdminArea/3/SubAdminArea/3/Default.aspx?Interests=1,%206,%202,%203,%204,%205 Activities in Padova]
 
  
 
[[Category:Geography]]
 
[[Category:Geography]]
 
[[Category:Cities]]
 
[[Category:Cities]]
 +
[[Category:Europe]]
  
 
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Latest revision as of 06:14, 18 November 2022

Città di Padova
Palazzo della Ragione
Palazzo della Ragione
Regions of Italy.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Padua in Italy
Country Flag of Italy Italy
Region Veneto
Province Padua (PD)
Mayor Flavio Zanonato

 - Party
Democratic Party
Elevation 12 m (39 ft)
Area 92.85 km² (36 sq mi)
Population (as of 31 October 2011)
 - Total 214,125
 - Density 2,306/km² (5,973/sq mi)
Time zone CET, UTC+1
Coordinates 45°25′N 11°52′E / 45.417, 11.867Coordinates: 45°25′N 11°52′E / 45.417, 11.867
Gentilic Padovani or Patavini
Dialing code 049
Postal code 35100
Frazioni Altichiero, Arcella, Bassanello, Brusegana, Camin, Chiesanuova, Forcellini, Guizza, Mandria, Montà, Mortise, Paltana, Ponte di Brenta, Ponterotto, Pontevigodarzere, Sacra Famiglia, Salboro, Stanga, Terranegra, Volta Brusegana
Patron St.Prosdocimus of Padua
 - Day June 13
Website: www.commune.padova.it


Padua (Italian: Padova IPA: ['padova], Latin: Patavium, Venetian: Padoa) is the capital city and the economic and communications hub of Padova province, in the Veneto region of northern Italy. The region's variety of natural and cultural resources attracts the tourism of 20 million foreign and 24 million domestic visitors each year.

Padua is famous as the city where the poet Dante lived, where Saint Anthony of Padua is buried, and as the setting for most of the action in Shakespeare's play, The Taming of the Shrew.

The city is picturesque, with a dense network of arcade lined streets opening into large communal piazze, and many bridges crossing the various branches of the Bacchiglione River, which once surrounded the city's ancient walls like a moat.

Padua's Orto Botanico di Padova was the world's first academic botanical garden, created in 1545. The garden continues to serve its original purpose as a center for scientific research. It was named a World Heritage Site in 1997, noted by UNESCO for its contributions to the development of many modern scientific disciplines, notably botany, medicine, chemistry, ecology, and pharmacology.

Geography

Tronco Maestro Riviera: A pedestrian walks along a section of the "inland waterway" or naviglio interno of Padua.

Padua stands on the Bacchiglione River, 25 miles (40 km) west of Venice and 18 miles (29 km) southeast of Vicenza. The Brenta River, which once ran through the city, still touches the northern districts. Its agricultural setting is the "Venetian plain," and to the city's southwest lies the Euganaean Hills, praised by Lucan and Martial, Petrarch, Ugo Foscolo, and Shelley.

Padua has a Mediterranean climate. The average maximum temperature in July is around 84°F (29°C), and can be hot, humid, and somewhat energy-sapping. The average maximum daytime temperature in January is 45°F (7°C). January, February and March are the months with the least rainfall, so days can be crisp and stunning (if there's no fog). Mean annual precipitation is 26 inches (677 mm).

The city center is surrounded by the 11 km-long city walls, built during the early 16th century. There are only a few ruins left, together with two gates, of the smaller and inner thirteenth century walls. There is also a castle, the Castello. Its main tower was transformed between 1767 and 1777 into an astronomical observatory known as Specola, and the other buildings were used as prisons during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In the surrounding district are numerous noble villas.

History

The Cathedral of Padua.
This tempera, Two Christians before the Judges, hangs in the city's cathedral.
Façade of the church of San Gaetano Thiene, (1574-86) by Vincenzo Scamozzi
The apse area of Santa Sofia.

The central location and numerous rivers has meant that the area around Padua has been inhabited since the earliest times. Patavium, as Padua was known by the Romans, according to legend, was founded in 1183 B.C.E. by the Trojan prince Antenor, who was supposed to have led the people of Eneti or Veneti from Paphlagonia to Italy. Patavium was inhabited by (Adriatic) Veneti, famed for their excellent horses and wool.

The city was a Roman municipium since 45 B.C.E., and became so powerful that it was reportedly able to raise 200,000 fighting men. The Roman historian Livy was born near there in 59 B.C.E.

The area is said to have been Christianized by Saint Prosdocimus (died 100 C.E.), who is venerated as the first bishop of the city.

The Huns under Attila invaded Padua in 452, Gothic kings Odoacer (435–493), and Theodoric the Great (454–526) controlled the city. During the Gothic War (535–552), it submitted to the Greeks in 540. The city was seized again by the Goths under Totila, but was restored to the Eastern Empire by Narses in 568.

Padua fell under Lombard control. In 601, the city rose in revolt, against Agilulf, the Lombard king, who besieged the city for 12 years before storming and burning it. The Padua of antiquity was destroyed. All that remain of Roman Padua are the remains of an amphitheater (the Arena) and some bridge foundations.

At the Diet of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 828, the duchy and march of Friuli, in which Padua lay, was divided into four counties, one of which took its title from the city of Padua.Magyars sacked the city in 899.

At the beginning of the eleventh century, Paduans established a constitution, set up a legislative assembly, and a credenza, or executive body. During the next century, Padua fought Venice and Vicenza for the right to use the Bacchiglione and the Brenta waterways.

The great families of Camposampiero, Este, and Da Romano began to emerge and to divide the Paduan district among themselves. The citizens elected a podestà, a chief magistrate, from the Este family.

Padua belonged to the Lombard League, an alliance formed around 1167, which included most of the cities of northern Italy. A fire devastated Padua in 1174, requiring reconstruction of the city.

In 1236, Frederick II established his ally, the infamous and cruel tyrant Ezzelino III da Romano (1194–1259) in Padua and the neighboring cities. Ezzelino was unseated in June 1256.

Padua then enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity. Work on the basilica of St. Anthony was begun, the university (the third in Italy) was founded in 1222, and the city exhumed a large stone sarcophagus in the year 1274 and declared it to represent the relics of Trojan prince Antenor.

Padua's growth brought conflict with Can Grande della Scala (1291–1329), the lord of Verona, and in 1311, Padua yielded to Verona.

Jacopo da Carrara was elected lord of Padua in 1318, and to 1405, nine members of the Carraresi family succeeded one another as lords of the city. The Carraresi period was variously described as a golden age and a period of restlessness, for the Carraresi were constantly at war. In 1387, John Hawkwood won the Battle of Castagnaro for Padova, against Giovanni Ordelaffi, for Verona.

Venetian rule

Padua passed to Venetian control in 1405, and remained thus until the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797, apart from a brief period when the city changed hands (in 1509) during the wars of the League of Cambray. Two Venetian nobles, a podestà for civil and a captain for military affairs, each elected for 16 months, governed the city. Two chamberlains managed the treasury, and every five years the Paduans sent a noble to reside as nuncio in Venice, and to watch over Padua's interests. Venice fortified Padua with new walls, built between 1507 and 1544, including a series of monumental gates.

Austrian rule

In 1797, the Treaty of Campo Formio ended the Venetian Republic, and Padua was ceded to the Austrian Empire. After the fall of Napoleon, in 1814, the city became part of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia. Padua began its industrial development, and one of the first Italian rail tracks, Padua-Venice, was built in 1845.

In Padua in 1848, in the year of revolutions, students revolted on February 8, turning the university and the Caffè Pedrocchi into battlegrounds in which students and Paduans fought side by side.

In 1866, in the Battle of Koniggratz, Italy pushed the Austrians out of the old Venetian republic as Padua and the rest of the Veneto joined the new Kingdom of Italy. Despite being at the center of the poorest area of Northern Italy, the city flourished. It was an important agricultural market, the university was a cultural and technological center, the city hosted a major military command and numerous regiments, and industry developed.

World War I

When Italy entered World War I (1914-1918) on May 24, 1915, Padua became the command center of the Italian Army. The king, Vittorio Emanuele III, and the commander in chief Cadorna lived there during the war. After Italy lost the battle of Caporetto in October 1917, the front line was situated just 50-60km from Padua, within range of the Austrian artillery. The city was bombed several times (incurring about 100 civilian deaths). A memorable feat was Gabriele D'Annunzio's flight to Vienna from the nearby San Pelagio Castle air field. Austrian forces collapsed after the battle of Vittorio Veneto in October 1918, and the armistice was signed in Padua on November 3, 1918, with Austria-Hungary surrendering to Italy.

During the war, industry progressed strongly, and this gave Padua a base for further post-war development. In the years immediately following the Great War, Padua developed outside the historical town.

But strikes and clashes swept Padua as war veterans struggled to re-enter civilian life. The Fascist party came to be seen as the defender of property and order against revolution, and Padua was the site of one of the largest Fascist rallies, when 300,000 people attended one Mussolini speech. Buildings surrounding Piazza Spalato, the railway station, the new part of City Hall, and part of the Bo Palace hosting the university, were constructed in the Fascist style of architecture.

World War II

After Italy's defeat in World War II (1939-1945) on September 8, 1943, Padua became part of the Italian Social Republic, a Nazi puppet state. The city hosted the Ministry of Public Instruction of the new state, as well as military and militia commands and a military airport. The Resistenza, the Italian partisans, was active against both the new Fascist rule and the Nazis.

Padua was bombed several times by Allied planes. The worst hit areas were the railway station and the northern district of Arcella. During one of these bombings, the beautiful Eremitani Church, with Mantegna frescoes, was destroyed. Some art historians considered this to be Italy's biggest wartime cultural loss. Partisans and British troops liberated the city on April 28, 1945.

Government

Italy is a republic in which the president is chief of state who is elected by an electoral college for a seven-year term. The prime minister, who is head of government, is appointed by the president and confirmed by parliament. The bicameral Parlamento consists of a senate of 315 members, and the chamber of deputies of 630 members, both houses elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms.

Padua is a city, or comune, in the Veneto region of northern [[Italy], one of Italy's 20 regions, of which Venice is the capital.

Italy's 100 provinces have their own local elections. Each province has a prefect who is appointed by and responds to the central government, which he locally represents.

The comune provides many basic civil functions. It has a registry of births and deaths, a registry of deeds, and it contracts for local roads and public works. It is headed by a mayor (sindaco) assisted by a council of aldermen, the Consiglio Comunale. The offices of the comune are housed in a building usually called the Municipio, or Palazzo Comunale.

Economy

Botanical Garden (Orto Botanico), Padua*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Botanical Garden of Padova today; in the background, the Basilica of Sant'Antonio.
State Party Flag of Italy Italy
Type Cultural
Criteria ii, iii
Reference 824
Region** Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription 1997  (21st Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List.
** Region as classified by UNESCO.

The Veneto region is one of the major tourist destinations in Italy, attracting some 20 million foreign and 24 million domestic arrivals each year through the variety of natural and cultural resources it has to offer.

Padua is an important rail and road junction, as well as being an agricultural, commercial, and major industrial center. The industrial area of Padua was created in 1946, in the east part of the city, to become one of the biggest industrial zones in Europe. The main offices of 1,300 industries are here, and 50,000 people from throughout the world work here. The industrial zone alone has two train stations, one port, three truck terminals, two highway exits, and numerous services including hotels, and post offices.

Manufacturing involves electrical and agricultural machinery, motorcycles, chemicals, and artificial and synthetic textiles, and processed food.

Padova Centrale is the largest of the city's numerous train stations. A freeway with 20 exits surrounds the city, connecting districts and the small towns of the hinterland. Three motorways radiate from the city. Although the Padua airport is no longer served by regularly scheduled flights, Padua is relatively close to airports at Venice, Verona, Treviso and Bologna. Urban public transport includes buses and a new tramway line. A metro line was planned in 2008. The center of the city is restricted to vehicles owned by residents and permitted vehicles.

Demographics

Padua's population was 212,500 in 2008. The city is sometimes included, with Venice (Italian Venezia), in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area; population 1,600,000. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Padua grew by 2.21 percent, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.85 percent.

As of 2006, 90.66 percent of the population comprised Italian people. Most immigrants came from other European nations (mostly Romanians, Moldovans, and Albanians) 5.14 percent, sub-saharan Africa 1.08 percent, and East Asia 1.04 percent. Italian is the official language.

The city is predominantly Roman Catholic, but immigration has brought Orthodox Christian, Muslim, and Hindu followers.

The University of Padua, founded in 1222, has a long and illustrious list of professors and alumni, containing, among others, the names of Bembo, Sperone Speroni, the anatomist Vesalius, Copernicus, Fallopius, Fabrizio d'Acquapendente, Galileo Galilei, Pietro Pomponazzi, Reginald, later Cardinal Pole, Scaliger, Tasso, and Sobieski.

The university hosts the oldest anatomy theater (built in 1594). The university also hosts the oldest botanical garden (1545) in the world. The botanical garden Orto Botanico di Padova was founded as the garden of curative herbs attached to the University's faculty of medicine. It still contains an important collection of rare plants.

Society and culture

The Scrovegni chapel.

Padua is the home of Calcio Padova, a football team that plays in Italy's Serie C1 division, the Petrarca Padova rugby union team, and a volleyball club, once called Petrarca Padova too, which plays in the Italian first division. Basketball, cycling (Padua has been for several years home of the famous Giro del Veneto), rowing (two teams among the best ones in Italy, Canottieri Padova and Padova Canottaggio), horse-riding and swimming are popular sports also. Stadio Euganeo, for football and athletics, has about 32,000 seats; Stadio Plebiscito for rugby union, has about 9000 seats; Palazzetto dello Sport San Lazzaro for volleyball and basketball, has about 5,000 seats. The F1 racing driver Riccardo Patrese (vice-champion 1992, 3rd place in 1989 and 1991; holds the world record for having started the most Formula One races) was born and lives in Padova; the racing driver Alex Zanardi also lives in Padova.

The place of Padua in the history of art is nearly as important as its place in the history of learning. The university attracted many distinguished artists, such as Giotto, Fra Filippo Lippi, and Donatello. For native art there was the school of Francesco Squarcione, whence issued the great Mantegna. Padua is also the birthplace of the architect Andrea Palladio, known for 16th century "ville" (country-houses) built in Padua, Venice, Vicenza and Treviso, and of Giovanni Battista Belzoni, an adventurer, engineer and Egyptologist. The Antonianum, built in 1897, by the Jesuit fathers, became the center of the resistance against the Nazism during World War II.

Places of interest

Antonianum. From its windows students could see St. Giustina.
Villa Molin at Mandria.
The Basilica of St. Giustina, facing the great piazza of Prato della Valle.
  • The Scrovegni Chapel (Italian: Cappella degli Scrovegni), which is Padua's most famous sight, houses a cycle of frescoes completed in 1305, by Giotto, and stands on the site of a Roman-era arena.
  • The Palazzo della Ragione, which with its great hall on the upper floor, is reputed to have the largest roof unsupported by columns in Europe. The hall's length is 81.5 meters, its breadth 27 meters, and its height 24 meters, and the walls are covered with allegorical frescoes. The Palazzo was begun in 1172 and finished in 1219. In 1306 Fra Giovanni, an Augustinian friar, covered the whole with one roof. The internal partition walls remained till the fire of 1420, when Venetian architects removed them, forming the present great hall, the Salone. Beneath the great hall, which is decorated with a cycle of 333 frescoes, there is a centuries-old market.
  • The Palazzo del Capitanio, which was the residence of the Venetian governors, with its great door, the work of Giovanni Maria Falconetto, the Veronese architect-sculptor who introduced Renaissance architecture to Padua.
  • The Basilica di Sant'Antonio da Padova, locally simply known as "Il Santo," which is the most famous Paduan church. The bones of the saint rest in a chapel richly ornamented with carved marble. Donatello's magnificent equestrian statue of the Venetian general Gattamelata (Erasmo da Narni) can be found on the piazza in front of the Basilica di Sant'Antonio da Padova.
  • The Prato della Valle, which is a symbol of Padua, is an elliptical square, believed to be the biggest in Europe, after Red Square in Moscow.
  • The abbey and the basilica of Santa Giustina, which was founded in the fifth century on the tomb of the namesake saint, Justine of Padua, is the location of the tombs of several saints—Justine, St. Prosdocimus, St Maximus, St Urius, St Felicita, St Julianus, as well as relics of the Apostle St. Matthias and the Evangelist St. Luke.
  • The Church of the Eremitani, which is an Augustinian church of the 13th century, and contains the tombs of Jacopo (1324) and Ubertinello (1345) da Carrara, lords of Padua, and the chapel of saints James and Christopher, formerly illustrated by Mantegna's frescoes. This was largely destroyed by the Allies in World War II, because it was next to the Nazi headquarters. The old monastery of the church now houses the municipal art gallery.
  • The Santa Sofia, which is most likely Padua's most ancient church. The crypt was begun in the late tenth century by Venetian craftsmen. It has a basilica plan with Romanesque-Gothic interior and Byzantine elements. The apse was built in the twelfth century.
  • The church of San Gaetano (1574-1586), which was designed by Vincenzo Scamozzi on an unusual octagonal plan. The interior, decorated with polychrome marble, houses a precious Madonna and Child by Andrea Briosco, in Nanto stone.
  • The Caffé Pedrocchi, built in 1831 by architect Giuseppe Jappelli in neoclassical style with Egyptian influence. This is a little jewel of history and art for a café open for almost two centuries. It hosts the Risorgimento museum, and the near building of the Pedrocchino ("little Pedrocchi") in neogothic style.

Looking to the future

The Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua.

Standing on a history of nearly 3,000 years, Padua's position in the history of art is nearly as important as its place in the history of learning. The University of Padua, founded in 1222, the World Heritage Site Orto Botanico di Padova first developed in 1545, the Palazzo della Ragione, with its huge unsupported roof, the Scrovegni Chapel, and the Basilica di Sant'Antonio, which holds the remains of Saint Anthony of Padua and many other notable sights, continue to attract a steady flow more than 40 million visitors annually. Tourism alone could guarantee a sound economy for Padua. The city also has one of the largest industrial zones in Europe, and is an important railroad and highway junction.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Chierichetti, Sandro. 1973. Padua; an Illustrated Guide-Book with Plans of the Monuments. Padua: B. Facchinelli. OCLC 1047092.
  • Gasparotto, Cesira. 1981. Padua: City of Saint Anthony. Venezia: Edizioni Storti. OCLC 56106326.
  • Kohl, Benjamin G. 2001. Culture and Politics in Early Renaissance Padua. Aldershot, Hampshire: Ashgate. ISBN 9780860788713.
  • Lumley, Robert, and John Foot. 2004. Italian Cityscapes: Culture and Urban Change in Contemporary Italy. Exeter, UK: University of Exeter Press. ISBN 9780859897372.
  • Maret, Russell. 2008. Mediaeval in Padua. New York: Russell Maret. OCLC 251491396.

External links

All links retrieved November 18, 2022.

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