Padua: Giotto, Museums and City History
Accommodation in Padua
Padua combines medieval frescoes and historic buildings with museums dedicated to the history of medicine and settlement. It also offers a garden with simulated climate zones, waterside paths and a market selling regional products. The city therefore offers a range of cultural highlights to help you plan your stay: art, science, sacred history, nature and city life.
Art and architecture in Padua
The Palazzo della Ragione is a landmark of architectural history and contemporary cultural life. Construction began in 1218, and it is one of the largest freestanding halls in Europe. Today, the Palazzo is a venue for exhibitions and cultural gatherings, and plays a central role in public life in Padua. Inside, it preserves a medieval astrological fresco cycle with 333 panels. The hall thus combines an outstanding architectural form with a distinctive pictorial program.
In the Scrovegni Chapel, Giotto painted frescoes between 1303 and 1305 depicting episodes from the lives of the Virgin Mary and Christ, culminating in a monumental Last Judgment. The Padova Urbs picta series includes the chapel and seven other monuments featuring significant painted works of comparable artistic value. A new visitor center with an air-conditioned waiting room accommodates larger numbers of visitors and protects the delicate frescoes.
Medicine, archaeology and sacred history
MUSME explores the history of medicine, from an ancient discipline to a modern science, with a particular focus on the medical school of Padua. It combines a traditional collection of artifacts with a modern science center. Ancient finds, interactive exhibits, videos and multimedia games present the human body through discoveries made over several centuries. The museum is housed in the monumental complex of the former Ospedale di San Francesco Grande. It was Padua’s first city hospital, built in 1414.
The Museo Archeologico spans a different period: its 14 rooms document the continuity of settlement in the Padua area from prehistoric times to the Roman era. Here, the focus is not on the development of a single field of knowledge, but on the succession of early settlement periods.
The city’s sacred buildings also tell different chapters of its history. Construction of the Basilica del Santo began in 1231 as an extension of the older chapel that housed the mortal remains of Saint Anthony. In the first decade of the 14th century, Giotto decorated a chapel in the basilica with frescoes; it is now known as the Cappella delle Benedizioni. The Oratorio di San Giorgio was painted entirely by Altichiero da Zevio: its frescoes depict scenes from the life of Jesus as well as stories about Saint George, Saint Lucy and Saint Catherine. The Basilica di Santa Giustina was built as a cemetery basilica in honor of Giustina, a martyr from Padua. Its construction history began in the early Christian period and continued uninterrupted beyond the Renaissance.
Gardens, waterways and local life
At the Garden of Biodiversity, greenhouses simulate tropical, subhumid, temperate and arid climate zones. Around 1,300 plant species are cultivated there, representing the plant life of our planet. The garden provides a botanical highlight alongside the city’s frescoes and museums.
The Anello fluviale di Padova is an easy walk that starts at Porte Contarine and soon reaches the Scrovegni Chapel. The route follows the artificial, eleven-kilometer-long Piovego Canal, the Venetian city walls and the university district, then continues along the San Gregorio and Scaricatore canals. The Cammino di Sant'Antonio is a different route: this 25-kilometer trail between Camposampiero and Padua traces Saint Anthony’s final journey and is almost entirely a walking path. Plan your start with current trail conditions in mind. Those who complete the Cammino receive a certificate in Latin, signed by the rector, in the basilica’s sacristy; the procedures for obtaining it may change.
Below the Palazzo della Ragione is the Mercato Sotto il Salone, the city’s oldest trading center. Its wide selection of local and regional products includes cheese, cured meats, ham, meat, fish, wine, fruit and vegetables; the availability of individual products may vary. From Padua train station, you can easily walk to the city center. This connection provides a clear point of reference on arrival, while the city’s cultural and culinary offerings give you different ways to shape your stay.
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