Padova
Padova, as its known to Italians, or Padua, as its known to English-speakers, (blame Shakespeare), is a 30 minute train ride from Venice and the place where our tour was to start. However, (and it may have just been us), it was not obvious which of about a half dozen stops was the one we wanted. Our fatigue may have contributed to our panic and confusion as to where we needed to disembark. We did figure it out and took a quick cab from the train station to our hotel, Art Hotel al Fagiano. It was a very unique place, with art made by the owners hanging everywhere and brightly colored rooms. The owners were very nice and the hotel was very well-situated.
Hotel al Fagiano entrance
Hotel al Fagiano breakfast room
You'll not be surprised to learn that the room we were assigned was called the Orange Room.
Our tour was scheduled to start at 5 pm so we had several hours to explore Padova on our own. We checked out the market, had lunch at an historic cafe, explored the university and did some laundry.
The outdoor portion of the market had dozens of stands selling flowers, fruits, and vegetables. The interior had a number of permanent stalls selling all kinds of foods, including cheese, pastas, breads, seafood, beef, pork, chicken, sheep, and equina. Yes, that's right, horse meat.
Caffe Pedrocchi was the meeting place for university students plotting independence from imperial overlords and the unification of Italy in the 1860's. One of the dining rooms still has a bullet hole in the wall from a clash that occurred here.
We somehow overcame very confusing rules about ordering and in what rooms we were allowed to sit (we were asked to leave the outdoor seating area and two of three indoor dining rooms) to have lunch at the Pedrocchi. Even then, Molly was surprised to find that she had ordered green milk, which tasted like an Andes mint and was better than what you would have expected.
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Scenes around Padova
We met our guide, Trina, and the rest of our tour group in the al Fagiano breakfast room, sharing some Prosecco, peanuts, and roasted chestnuts. We then took a short walk together, with Trina giving us an orientation on the way, to a restaurant for a group dinner. The next morning we walked across town to the Scrovegni chapel, which contains a fresco cycle by Giotto, dating from 1305. The paintings are considered to be one of the masterpieces of Western art, marking a leap from the flat, featureless style that marked the middle ages to the expressive paintings of the Renaissance utilizing perspective and emotion.
The Scrovegni Chapel
After the Scrovegni Chapel, we walked back to the historical center of the city to tour the university where Galileo lectured. We also saw the first surgical theater, (no photos allowed). Notably, Padova University awarded the first woman to graduate from a university her degree.
After our university tour, Trina took us back to the market for a Padova creation, the Spritz. We had the rest of the day on our own. The second floor of the market building was the city's hall of justice. Now it's a concert venue and meeting hall. For some reason, there is a HUGE wooden horse at one end of the room. Trina recommended we tour the university botanical gardens and they were spectacular.
The botanical gardens were established to provide herbs and other plants for medicines developed by the university's medical school.
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Recently, the university added a modern building with several different biozones with appropriate trees and other plants, like rainforest, desert, and woodland zones.
St. Anthony's Basilica
Prato della Valle, a large park near our hotel, is the largest public space in Europe. It has 77 statues of leading Padovans, fountains, and acres of green space.