Four days in Padua

This is actually only the morning of day two in Padua, and I am sitting at the desk in our hotel room enjoying the beautiful view of the duomo Sant Antonio while using the internet, which feels a bit odd, I suppose it is the juxtaposition of internet and a 15th century church.

Non-zoomed in view from our hotel room

Padua is just a l hour 5 euro bus ride from Sottomarina, and we caught the block a bus from our apartment which couldn't be more convenient.  The train, in contrast, would have required a bus trip to the station, then transferring at Rovigo to get to Padua.  The bus and train stations in Padua are about 100 meters apart so you end up in the same place whichever method you choose.  A short tram ride and we were at hotel Il Santo (the saint) where we were warmly welcomed by Valentina who was so complimentary about our Italian that I forgot that I pretty much have to keep conversations in the present, simple past or simple future with occasional forays into the subjunctive when it can't be avoided.

We tried a restaurant recommended in Rick Steves (still have the guidebook on my kindle from our last trip) and it was superb!  I ordered agnoletti which is a form of ravioli, and it was incredible, best pasta I have ever eaten.  Tom had baccala, dried cod reconstituted, which in my opinion is as nasty as it sounds but he loves it and it is a regional specialty.  We ordered a mezzo (half carafe) of the vino sfuso but she brought us a bottle of pinot at the same price and it was delicious.

Agnoletti

This wine was so tasty we photographed the bottle so we would remember what it was and hopefully find it again

After lunch we visited the basilica San Antonio.  Although Saint Anthony was born in Lisbon, the Paduans consider him their saint.  His tomb is in the basilica and apparently devout catholics from all over the world still make pilgrimages there to seek his intercession in finding lost things, which includes having a baby.  There are bulletin boards covered with pictures of babies conceived after a trip to see Sant Antonio.  His jaw, tongue, and voice box are on display in the chapel of reliquaries, although you can't see the tongue which is encased in a giant monstrance. The faithful put a hnad on the saint's tomb and pray for what they want (we saw many people doing that while we were there).  The duomo is filled with frescoes and art including a famous crucifix by Donatello who also did the giant equestrian statue in front of the duomo.

Donatello's crucifix

Tomb of Sant Antonio

Scary skeleton angel

There are several cloisters next to the monastery which we also visited before heading to Prato Della Valle, reportedly the largest piazza in Italy, replete with walking paths, a fountain, grass (which you don't see that much of in Italy outside of soccer fields) and many amorous teenagers doing some serious making out.

Tom next to the tomb of Gabrielli Falloppii for whom the fallopian tube was named

                  

The magnolia cloisters, named for the large tree in the center

s,

Confessions available on demand but we didn't have time as
we have only 4 days here on this trip

A corner of the Prato della Valle

Another in the "Nancy reading" series started in the mid-70s, this time
at the Prato della Valle

Our friend Dante Allighieri, one of donzens of
statues surrounding the Prato

Donatello's equestrian statue in front of San Antonio's

 That was the end of our touristing for day one.  Today we really felt like we were in Italy as we finally saw many, many Jesus and Madonna paintings and frescoes.  A great thing about Padua is the centro storico (historical city center) is compact and every turn brings another interesting site.  Walking from the hotel in the opposite direction from the Duomo, we first saw the two street markets, the Piazza della Fruita and the Piazza della erbe, which have been flourishing for hundreds of years.  They flank the regal Piazza della Ragione which used to be the market for luxury goods like gold and furs.  After the defeat by the French in the late 1700s there were no luxury goods available and it became a place to sell perishable foods like cheese and prosciutto out of the sun.  There are 333 frescoes depicting the zodiac, types of work, and saints, decorating the interior.

Street market with Palazzo della Ragione in badi

We then wandered to piazza dei signori, the site of a clothing market and a medieval clock tower.

After such prodigious feats of tourism, all before 10:30 am, we felt entitled to a coffee break at the famous Pedrocchi Caffe, which was built in 1831 during Austrian rule and became a central gathering place for those trying to foment revolution and create a unified Italian state.  The main rooms are decorated in the colors of the Italian flag (the red room, green room, and white room).  We paid the extra to sit at a table instead of getting our coffee at the bar where the price is regulated by the government and is only 1 euro.

Bar at Pedrocchi Caffe

We headed upstairs to the Museo del Risorgimento which tells the history of Padua's involvement in the fight for Italian unity and on through WWII.  There is a film at the end which is from actual WW II footage that shows allied bombing of Padua, where many of the medieval buildings were damaged or destroyed.  There are also posters from WW II with chilling slogans like "I Tedeschi sono nostri amici" (The germans are our friends).  We were the only people in the museum and the guard, an elderly Italian gentleman, wanted to be sure we saw everything--he followed us around and directed us to things he felt we might have missed.  We think he said he was a child in Padua during WW II but  aren't 100% sure about that.

Tom outside the small entrance to Pedrocchi.

Our next stop was at the Scrovegni chapel to see the series of frescos by Giotto.  The chapel is next to a piece of a remaining roman wall and set in a lovely garden where we sat and enjoyed the sun while waiting for our 2 o clock entry.  To preserve the frescoes, they have limited entry similar to the way it is done for the Last Supper in Milan.  Luckily our group only had 10 adults including us (maximum 25).  I say lucky because two large school groups, one german, one italian, were there and being the curmudgeons that we are we didn't relish having to view the chapel with them.  No photos allowed, but the frescoes are amazing and worth a trip to Padua just for that.  We then went through the Pianocoteca (art gallery) which appears to be Italy's answer to the Frye art museum. A rich guy died and donated over 500 paintings to the city, of which approximately 498 are jesus/mary paintings.  There is the famous Giotto cross which was in the chapel but has been removed to the museum for safekeeping as it is very fragile.

We headed home past Via VIII Octobre where many of the main university buildings are located and were lucky enough to see a student 'graduation.'  They don't have formal graduation ceremonies in Italy.  There are 60,000 students at the university, and about every 20 minutes, one of them graduates.  They meet with members of the faculty and are pronounced graduated.  Then their friends post a big sheet of paper with a caricature, pictures,l and jokes about the graduate and stand around singing the traditional song which we heard several times.  Translated, the lyrics are "Doctor, doctor, doctor, you are a doctor of assholes.  Go fuck yourself (repeated 3 times)."

With such a large student population there are bicycles everywhere

and motorcycles

The pink haired girl is the recent graduate.  They were playing a drinking game and singing for her.
She has her laurel crown wrapped around her shoulder.

Time to head out for another fabulous Italian dinner.  Ciao a tutti!