Padua
Encyclopedia
Padua is a city and comune
in the Veneto
, northern Italy
. It is the capital of the province of Padua
and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice
(Italian
Venezia) and Treviso
, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area
, having a population of c. 1,600,000.
Padua stands on the Bacchiglione River
, 40 km west of Venice
and 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
(Pianura Veneta). To the city's south west lies the Euganaean Hills
, praised by Lucan
and Martial
, Petrarch
, Ugo Foscolo
, and Shelley
.
It hosts the renowned University of Padua
, almost 800 years old and famous, among other things, for having had Galileo Galilei
among its lecturers.
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
.
Padua is the setting for most of the action in Shakespeare
's The Taming of the Shrew
.
's Aeneid
, and rediscovered by the medieval commune
, it was founded in 1183 BC by the 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.
Patavium, as Padua was known by the Romans
, was inhabited by (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 BC (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 Valerius Flaccus
, Asconius Pedianus
and Thrasea Paetus
.
The area is said to have been Christianized by Saint Prosdocimus
. He is venerated as the first bishop of the city.
follows the course of events common to most cities of north-eastern Italy.
Padua, in common with north-eastern Italy, suffered severely from the invasion of the Huns
under Attila
(452). It then passed under the Gothic
kings Odoacer
and Theodoric the Great
. However during the Gothic War 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.
Then it 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 antiquity of Padua 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 Venetian Lagoon
, 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.
, in which Padua lay, was divided into four counties, one of which took its title from the city of Padua.
The end of the early Middle Ages
at Padua was marked by the sack of the city by the Magyars in 899. It was many years before Padua recovered from this ravage.
During the period of 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.
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.
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.
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.
A fire devastated Padua in 1174. This required the virtual rebuilding of the city.
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
found little difficulty in establishing his vicar Ezzelino III 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
.
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
(the second in Italy, after Bologna) was founded in 1222, and as it flourished in the 13th century Padua outpaced Bologna, where no effort had been made to expand the revival of classical precedents beyond the field of jurisprudence, to become a center of early humanist researches
, with a first-hand knowledge of Roman poets that was unrivalled in Italy or beyond the Alps.
However the advances of Padua in the 13th century finally brought the commune into conflict with Can Grande della Scala
, lord of Verona. In 1311 Padua had to yield to Verona.
Jacopo da Carrara
was elected lord of Padua in 1318. From then till 1405, nine members of the moderately 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. Under Carrarese rule the early humanist circles in the university were effectively disbanded: Albertino Mussato
, the first modern poet laureate
, died in exile at Chiogga in 1329, and the eventual heir of the Paduan tradition was the Tuscan Petrarch
.
In 1387 John Hawkwood
won the Battle of Castagnaro
for Padua, against Giovanni Ordelaffi
, for Verona
. The Carraresi period finally came to an end as the power of the Visconti and of Venice grew in importance.
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: 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. (Siege of Padua (1509)
).
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.
Venice fortified Padua with new walls, built between 1507 and 1544, with a series of monumental gates.
, 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
.
The Austrians were unpopular with progressive circles in northern Italy. In Padua, the year of revolutions of 1848
saw a student revolt which on February 8 turned the University and the Caffè Pedrocchi into battlegrounds in which students and ordinary Paduans fought side by side.
Under Austrian rule, Padua began its industrial development; one of the first Italian rail tracks
, Padua-Venice, was built in 1845.
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 Kingdom of 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.
on 24 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 50–60 km 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.
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 3 November 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, enlarging and growing in population. even if labor and social strife was rampant at the time.
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.
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.
Following Italy's defeat in the Second World War
on 8 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.
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).
The city was finally liberated by partisans and New Zealand
troops on 28 April 1945. A small Commonwealth
War Cemetery is in the west part of the city, to remember the sacrifice of these troops.
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.
(Köppen climate classification
Cfa) characteristic of Northern Italy.
In the neighbourhood of Padua are numerous noble villas. These include:
, 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 Bembo
, Sperone Speroni
, the anatomist Vesalius, Copernicus
, Fallopius
, Fabrizio d'Acquapendente, Galileo Galilei
, Pietro Pomponazzi
, Reginald, later Cardinal Pole, Scaliger
, Tasso
and Sobieski
.
It is also where, in 1678, Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia became the first woman in the world to graduate.
The university hosts the oldest anatomy theatre
, 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.
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, such as Giotto, Fra Filippo Lippi
and Donatello
; and for native art there was the school of Francesco Squarcione
, whence issued the great Mantegna
.
Padua is also the birth place of the famous architect Andrea Palladio
, whose 16th 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 the 18th and 19th centuries; and of Giovanni Battista Belzoni
, adventure-man, engineer and egyptologist.
The famous sculptor Antonio Canova
produced his first work in Padua, one of which is among the statues of Prato della Valle (presently a copy is displayed in the open air, while the original is in the Musei Civici, Civic Museums).
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 was built in 1897 by the Jesuit fathers and kept alive until 2002. During World War II, under the leadership of P. Messori Roncaglia SJ, it became the center of the resistance movement against the Nazis. Indeed, it briefly survived P. Messori's death and was sold by the Jesuits in 2004. Some sites are trying to collect what can still be found of the college: (1) a non-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.
, of whom 47.1% were male and 52.9% were female. Minors (children ages 18 and younger) totalled 14.87% of the population compared to pensioners who number 23.72%. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06% (minors) and 19.94% (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%, while Italy
as a whole grew by 3.85%. The current birth rate
of Padua is 8.49 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births.
As of 2006, 90.66% of the population was 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%. The city is predominantly Roman Catholic
, but due to immigration now has some Orthodox Christian
, Muslim
and Hindu
followers.
, Croatia
, Côte d'Ivoire
, Peru
, Poland
, Switzerland
and Uruguay
. The South Korea
n consulate is to be opened soon.
s, one fluvial port
, three truck terminals, two highway exits and a lot of connected services, hotels, post office
s and directional centres.
, 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
and South Italy). You have to pay a toll to use most of the Italian motorways. Roads connect Padua with all the large and small centers of the region. A freeway
with more than 20 exits surrounds the city, connecting districts and the small towns of the surrounding region.
s connect to Milan
, Rome
, Bologna
, Florence
and Venice
; one can reach Milan in 1h and 51 min, Rome in 3 hours and 20 min and Venice in 20 min.
The station was opened in 1842 when the service started on the first part of the Venice-Milan line (the "Imperial Regia Ferrovia Ferdinandea") built from Padua to Marghera through Mestre. Porta Marghera is a major port of the Venetian area.
Railways enthusiasts can visit the Signal Box A (Cabina A), preserved by the "Società Veneta Ferrovie" (a society named after the former public works and railway company, based in "Piazza Eremitani" in Padua) association.
, Verona
, Treviso
and Bologna
. The Padua airport, the "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 Center
s.
Venice
, approximately 50 km away, is the nearest seaport.
includes public bus
es together with a new Translohr
guided tramway (connecting Albignasego, in the south of Padua, with the Fornace, in the north of the city, thanks to the new line built in 2009) and private taxis
. There's also a CitySightseeing tour Hop on Hop Off.
The city center 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.
Padua has approximately 40 bus lines, which are served by new buses, (purchased in 2008-9), with a television that displays the route line, 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
.
The Veneto
Region is building a regional rail line (S-Bahn
-like system) around the city with 15 new stations. Its name will be SFMR and it will reach the province of Venice
.
, a football team that plays in Italy's Serie B
, 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 12 national championships (all between 1970 and 2011) and 2 national cups, and now plays in the Super 10
league; and the Pallavolo Padova volleyball
club, once called Petrarca Padova as well, which plays in the Italian second division (A2) 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), horseback-riding
and swimming
are popular sports too.
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, and has just been restored; Ippodromo Breda - Le Padovanelle for horse races
. The old and glorious Stadio Appiani, which hosted up to 21,000 people, presently reduced to 10,000 for security reasons twenty years ago, and near to Prato della Valle in the city central area, is almost abandoned and is to be restored. A small ice stadium for skating
and hockey
is about to be completed, with about 1,000 seats.
The F1
racing driver
Riccardo Patrese
(runner-up 1992, 3rd place in 1989 and 1991; held the world record for having started the most Formula One races, beaten by Rubens Barrichello
during the 2008 season) was born and lives in Padova; the racing driver Alex Zanardi
also lives in Padova.
The Bergamasco brothers were also born in Padova, as well as Bortolami
, Marcato
and Leonardo Ghiraldini
, of the Italian Rugby national team. All of them started their careers in Petrarca Padova.
Famous footballers from Padua were Francesco Toldo, who was born here, and Alessandro Del Piero
, who started his professional career in the Calcio Padova
.
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
in the Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
, northern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It is the capital of the province of Padua
Province of Padua
The Province of Padua is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Padua.-History and territory:...
and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
(Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
Venezia) and Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...
, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area
Metropolitan area
The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...
, having a population of c. 1,600,000.
Padua stands on the Bacchiglione River
Bacchiglione
The Bacchiglione is a river that flows through northern Italy. It rises in the Alps and empties into the Gulf of Venice, on the Adriatic Sea, near Chioggia...
, 40 km west of Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
and 29 km southeast of Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...
. The Brenta River
Brenta River
The Brenta is an Italian river that runs from Trentino to the Adriatic Sea just south of the Venetian lagoon in the Veneto region.During Roman era, it was called Medoacus and near Padua it divided in two branches, Medoacus Maior and Medoacus Minor ; the river changed its course in early Middle...
, which once ran through the city, still touches the northern districts. Its agricultural setting is the Venetian Plain
Venetian Plain
The Venetian Plain, or Venetian-Friulan Plain is a major geographical feature of Italy. It extends approximately from river Adige to river Isonzo, in an southwest-to-northeast direction, including almost all the flatlands of Veneto and Friuli...
(Pianura Veneta). To the city's south west lies the Euganaean Hills
Colli Euganei
Colli Euganei are located in the Veneto region of northern Italy, a few kilometers south of Padua. They take their name from the Euganei, a semi-mythical population who inhabited the area before the Veneti....
, praised by Lucan
Lucan
Lucan is the common English name of the Roman poet Marcus Annaeus Lucanus.Lucan may also refer to:-People:*Arthur Lucan , English actor*Sir Lucan the Butler, Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend...
and Martial
Martial
Marcus Valerius Martialis , was a Latin poet from Hispania best known for his twelve books of Epigrams, published in Rome between AD 86 and 103, during the reigns of the emperors Domitian, Nerva and Trajan...
, Petrarch
Petrarch
Francesco Petrarca , known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar, poet and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch is often called the "Father of Humanism"...
, Ugo Foscolo
Ugo Foscolo
Ugo Foscolo , born Niccolò Foscolo, was an Italian writer, revolutionary and poet.-Biography:Foscolo was born on the Ionian island of Zakynthos...
, and Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...
.
It hosts the renowned University of Padua
University of Padua
The University of Padua is a premier Italian university located in the city of Padua, Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 as a school of law and was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe. It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second...
, almost 800 years old and famous, among other things, for having had Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei , was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism...
among its lecturers.
The city is picturesque, with a dense network of arcaded
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
streets opening into large communal piazze, and many bridges crossing the various branches of the Bacchiglione
Bacchiglione
The Bacchiglione is a river that flows through northern Italy. It rises in the Alps and empties into the Gulf of Venice, on the Adriatic Sea, near Chioggia...
, which once surrounded the ancient walls like a moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
.
Padua is the setting for most of the action in Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1591.The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself...
.
Antiquity
Padua claims to be the oldest city in northern Italy. According to a tradition dated at least to VirgilVirgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
's Aeneid
Aeneid
The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter...
, and rediscovered by the medieval commune
Medieval commune
Medieval communes in the European Middle Ages had sworn allegiances of mutual defense among the citizens of a town or city. They took many forms, and varied widely in organization and makeup. Communes are first recorded in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, thereafter becoming a widespread...
, it was founded in 1183 BC by the Trojan
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
prince Antenor
Antenor (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Anthenor was a son of the Dardanian noble Aesyetes by Cleomestra. He is a counselor to Priam during the Trojan War.-History:He was one of the wisest of the Trojan elders and counsellors...
, who was supposed to have led the people of Eneti or Veneti from Paphlagonia
Paphlagonia
Paphlagonia was an ancient area on the Black Sea coast of north central Anatolia, situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus to the east, and separated from Phrygia by a prolongation to the east of the Bithynian Olympus...
to Italy. The city exhumed a large stone sarcophagus in the year 1274 and declared these to represent Antenor's relics.
Patavium, as Padua was known by the Romans
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
, was inhabited by (Adriatic) Veneti
Adriatic Veneti
The Veneti were an ancient people who inhabited north-eastern Italy, in an area corresponding to the modern-day region of the Veneto....
. They were reputed for their excellent breed of horses and the wool of their sheep. Its men fought for the Romans at Cannae
Battle of Cannae
The Battle of Cannae was a major battle of the Second Punic War, which took place on August 2, 216 BC near the town of Cannae in Apulia in southeast Italy. The army of Carthage under Hannibal decisively defeated a numerically superior army of the Roman Republic under command of the consuls Lucius...
. The city was a Roman municipium
Municipium
Municipium , the prototype of English municipality, was the Latin term for a town or city. Etymologically the municipium was a social contract between municipes, the "duty holders," or citizens of the town. The duties, or munera, were a communal obligation assumed by the municipes in exchange for...
since 45 BC (os 43. It became so powerful that it was reportedly able to raise two hundred thousand fighting men. Abano
Abano Terme
Abano Terme is a town and comune in the province of Padua, in the Veneto region, Italy, on the eastern slope of the Colli Euganei; it is 10 kilometers southwest by rail from Padua. Abano Terme's population is 19,062 .The town's hot springs and mud baths are the main economic resource...
, which is nearby, is the birthplace of the reputed historian Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
. Padua was also the birthplace of Valerius Flaccus
Gaius Valerius Flaccus
Gaius Valerius Flaccus was a Roman poet who flourished in the "Silver Age" under the emperors Vespasian and Titus and wrote a Latin Argonautica that owes a great deal to Apollonius of Rhodes' more famous epic....
, Asconius Pedianus
Asconius Pedianus
Quintus Asconius Pedianus , Roman grammarian and historian, was probably a native of Patavium .In his later years he resided in Rome, and there he died, after having been blind for twelve years, at the age of eighty-five. During the reigns of Claudius and Nero he compiled for his sons, from various...
and Thrasea Paetus
Publius Clodius Thrasea Paetus
Publius Clodius Thrasea Paetus, Roman senator, lived in the first century CE. Notable for his principled opposition to the emperor Nero and his interest in stoicism, he was the husband of Arria the daughter of A...
.
The area is said to have been Christianized by Saint Prosdocimus
Prosdocimus
Saint Prosdocimus of Padua is venerated as the first bishop of Padua. Tradition holds that, being of Greek origin, he was sent from Antioch by Saint Peter the Apostle. He is thus often depicted in art with this Apostle. The cathedral at Feltre is dedicated to him and Saint Peter the Apostle,...
. He is venerated as the first bishop of the city.
Late Antiquity
The history of Padua after Late AntiquityLate Antiquity
Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
follows the course of events common to most cities of north-eastern Italy.
Padua, in common with north-eastern Italy, suffered severely from the invasion of the Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
under Attila
Attila the Hun
Attila , more frequently referred to as Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in 453. He was leader of the Hunnic Empire, which stretched from the Ural River to the Rhine River and from the Danube River to the Baltic Sea. During his reign he was one of the most feared...
(452). It then passed under the Gothic
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
kings Odoacer
Odoacer
Flavius Odoacer , also known as Flavius Odovacer, was the first King of Italy. His reign is commonly seen as marking the end of the Western Roman Empire. Though the real power in Italy was in his hands, he represented himself as the client of Julius Nepos and, after Nepos' death in 480, of the...
and Theodoric the Great
Theodoric the Great
Theodoric the Great was king of the Ostrogoths , ruler of Italy , regent of the Visigoths , and a viceroy of the Eastern Roman Empire...
. However during the Gothic War it submitted to the Greeks
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
in 540. The city was seized again by the Goths under Totila
Totila
Totila, original name Baduila was King of the Ostrogoths from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of Gothic War, recovering by 543 almost all the territories in Italy that the Eastern Roman Empire had captured from his Kingdom in 540.A relative of...
, but was restored to the Eastern Empire by Narses
Narses
Narses was, with Belisarius, one of the great generals in the service of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I during the "Reconquest" that took place during Justinian's reign....
in 568.
Then it fell under the control of the Lombards
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
. In 601, the city rose in revolt, against Agilulf
Agilulf
Agilulf called the Thuringian, was a duke of Turin and king of the Lombards from 591 until his death.-Biography:A relative of his predecessor Authari, he was selected king on the advice of the Christian queen and widow of Authari, Theodelinda, whom he then married...
, the Lombard king. After suffering a long (12 years) and bloody siege, it was stormed and burned by him. The antiquity of Padua 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 Venetian Lagoon
Venetian Lagoon
The Venetian Lagoon is the enclosed bay of the Adriatic Sea in which the city of Venice is situated. Its name in the Venetian language, Laguna Veneta— cognate of Latin lacus, "lake"— has provided the international name for an enclosed, shallow embayment of saltwater, a lagoon.The Venetian Lagoon...
, according to a chronicle. The city did not easily recover from this blow, and Padua was still weak when the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
succeeded the Lombards as masters of northern Italy.
Frankish and episcopal supremacy
At the Diet of Aix-la-Chapelle (828), the duchy and march of FriuliMarches
A march or mark refers to a border region similar to a frontier, such as the Welsh Marches, the borderland between England and Wales. During the Frankish Carolingian Dynasty, the word spread throughout Europe....
, in which Padua lay, was divided into four counties, one of which took its title from the city of Padua.
The end of the early Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
at Padua was marked by the sack of the city by the Magyars in 899. It was many years before Padua recovered from this ravage.
During the period of episcopal
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
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
Investiture Controversy
The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest was the most significant conflict between Church and state in medieval Europe. In the 11th and 12th centuries, a series of Popes challenged the authority of European monarchies over control of appointments, or investitures, of church officials such...
was Imperial and not Roman; and its bishops were, for the most part, Germans.
Emergence of the commune
Under the surface, several important movements were taking place that were to prove formative for the later development of Padua.At the beginning of the 11th century the citizens established a constitution, composed of a general council or legislative assembly
Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch.The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries....
and a credenza or executive body.
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.
The great families of Camposampiero
Camposampiero
Camposampiero is a town and comune in the province of Padua, Veneto, northern Italy.-Twin towns - sister cities:Camposampiero is twinned with Jasło, Poland, since November 2002...
, Este and Da Romano
Alberico da Romano
Alberico da Romano , called Alberico II, was an Italian condottiero, troubadour, and an alternatingly Guelph and Ghibelline statesman. He was also a patron of Occitan literature.-Life and death:...
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
Podestà
Podestà is the name given to certain high officials in many Italian cities, since the later Middle Ages, mainly as Chief magistrate of a city state , but also as a local administrator, the representative of the Emperor.The term derives from the Latin word potestas, meaning power...
. Their choice first fell on one of the Este family.
A fire devastated Padua in 1174. This required the virtual rebuilding of the city.
Lombard League
The Lombard League was an alliance formed around 1167, which at its apex included most of the cities of northern Italy , including, among others, Crema, Cremona, Mantua, Piacenza, Bergamo, Brescia, Milan, Genoa, Bologna, Padua, Modena, Reggio Emilia, Treviso, Venice, Vercelli, Vicenza, Verona,...
helped to strengthen the towns. However their civic jealousy soon reduced them to weakness again. As a result, in 1236 Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
found little difficulty in establishing his vicar Ezzelino III da Romano
Ezzelino III da Romano
Ezzelino III da Romano was an Italian feudal lord in the March of Treviso who was a close ally of the emperor Frederick II and ruled Verona, Vicenza and Padua for almost two decades...
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
Pope Alexander IV
Pope Alexander IV was Pope from 1254 until his death.Born as Rinaldo di Jenne, in Jenne , he was, on his mother's side, a member of the de' Conti di Segni family, the counts of Segni, like Pope Innocent III and Pope Gregory IX...
.
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 of Padua
The University of Padua is a premier Italian university located in the city of Padua, Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 as a school of law and was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe. It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second...
(the second in Italy, after Bologna) was founded in 1222, and as it flourished in the 13th century Padua outpaced Bologna, where no effort had been made to expand the revival of classical precedents beyond the field of jurisprudence, to become a center of early humanist researches
Renaissance humanism
Renaissance humanism was an activity of cultural and educational reform engaged by scholars, writers, and civic leaders who are today known as Renaissance humanists. It developed during the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries, and was a response to the challenge of Mediæval...
, with a first-hand knowledge of Roman poets that was unrivalled in Italy or beyond the Alps.
However the advances of Padua in the 13th century finally brought the commune into conflict with Can Grande della Scala
Cangrande I della Scala
Cangrande della Scala was an Italian nobleman, the most celebrated of the della Scala family which ruled Verona from 1277 until 1387. Now perhaps best known as the leading patron of the poet Dante Alighieri, Cangrande was in his own day chiefly acclaimed as a successful warrior and autocrat...
, lord of Verona. In 1311 Padua had to yield to Verona.
Jacopo da Carrara
Jacopo I da Carrara
Jacopo or Giacomo I da Carrara , called the Great , was the founder of the Carraresi dynasty that ruled Padua from 1318 to 1405. He governed with the advice of the leading citizens during a rule characterised by unity within the city...
was elected lord of Padua in 1318. From then till 1405, nine members of the moderately enlightened Carraresi family
Carraresi family
The Carraresi were an important family of northern Italy in the period 12th-15th centuries. As signori of Padua, their overwhelming power and patronage placed them in an isolated position far outshining any other single 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
Gian Galeazzo Visconti
Gian Galeazzo Visconti , son of Galeazzo II Visconti and Bianca of Savoy, was the first Duke of Milan and ruled the late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance...
held the town. The Carraresi period was a long period of restlessness, for the Carraresi were constantly at war. Under Carrarese rule the early humanist circles in the university were effectively disbanded: Albertino Mussato
Albertino Mussato
Albertino Mussato was an Early Renaissance Italian statesman, poet, historian and dramatist credited with providing an impetus to the revival of literary Latin....
, the first modern poet laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
, died in exile at Chiogga in 1329, and the eventual heir of the Paduan tradition was the Tuscan Petrarch
Petrarch
Francesco Petrarca , known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar, poet and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch is often called the "Father of Humanism"...
.
In 1387 John Hawkwood
John Hawkwood
Sir John Hawkwood was an English mercenary or condottiero who was active in 14th century Italy. The French chronicler Jean Froissart knew him as Jean Haccoude and Italians as Giovanni Acuto...
won the Battle of Castagnaro
Battle of Castagnaro
The Battle of Castagnaro was fought on March 11, 1387 at Castagnaro between Verona and Padua. It is one of the most famous battles of the Italian condottieri age....
for Padua, against Giovanni Ordelaffi
Giovanni Ordelaffi
Giovanni Ordelaffi was a member of the noble family of Ordelaffi, the Lords of Forlì, in Italy, in the 14th and in the 15th centuries.Born in Forlì, he was a famous condottiero....
, for Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
. The Carraresi period finally came to an end as the power of the Visconti and of Venice grew in importance.
Venetian rule
Padua passed under Venetian rule in 1405, and so mostly remained until the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797.There was just a brief period when the city changed hands (in 1509) during the wars of the League of Cambray
War of the League of Cambrai
The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and by several other names, was a major conflict in the Italian Wars...
. On 10 December 1508, representatives of the Papacy, France, the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
, and Ferdinand I of Spain
Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...
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: Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
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. (Siege of Padua (1509)
Siege of Padua (1509)
The Siege of Padua was a major engagement early in the War of the League of Cambrai.Imperial forces had captured the Venetian city of Padua in June 1509. On July 17, Venetian forces commanded by Andrea Gritti marched quickly from Treviso with a contingent of stradioti and conquered back the city,...
).
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
Nuncio
Nuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin word, Nuntius, meaning "envoy." This article addresses this title as well as derived similar titles, all within the structure of the Roman Catholic Church...
in Venice, and to watch the interests of his native town.
Venice fortified Padua with new walls, built between 1507 and 1544, with a series of monumental gates.
Austrian rule
In 1797 the Venetian Republic was wiped off the map by the Treaty of Campo FormioTreaty of Campo Formio
The Treaty of Campo Formio was signed on 18 October 1797 by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of revolutionary France and the Austrian monarchy...
, and Padua was ceded to the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
. After the fall of Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
, in 1814, the city became part of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia
Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia
The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia was created at the Congress of Vienna, which recognised the House of Habsburg's rights to Lombardy and Venetia after the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed by Napoleon in 1805, had collapsed...
.
The Austrians were unpopular with progressive circles in northern Italy. In Padua, the year of revolutions of 1848
Revolutions of 1848
The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary...
saw a student revolt which on February 8 turned the University and the Caffè Pedrocchi into battlegrounds in which students and ordinary Paduans fought side by side.
Under Austrian rule, Padua began its industrial development; one of the first Italian rail tracks
Rail tracks
The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...
, Padua-Venice, was built in 1845.
In 1866 the battle of Koniggratz
Battle of Königgrätz
The Battle of Königgrätz , also known as the Battle of Sadowa, Sadová, or Hradec Králové, was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War, in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire...
gave Italy the opportunity to push the Austrians out of the old Venetian republic
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
as Padua and the rest of the Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
were annexed to the recently united Kingdom of Italy
Italian unification
Italian unification was the political and social movement that agglomerated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy in the 19th century...
.
Italian rule
Annexed to ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
during 1866, Padua was at the centre of the poorest area of Northern Italy
Northern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...
, as Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
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.
The 20th century
When Italy entered the Great WarWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
on 24 May 1915, Padua was chosen as the main command of the Italian Army
Italian Army
The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...
. The king, Vittorio Emanuele III
Victor Emmanuel III of Italy
Victor Emmanuel III was a member of the House of Savoy and King of Italy . In addition, he claimed the crowns of Ethiopia and Albania and claimed the titles Emperor of Ethiopia and King of Albania , which were unrecognised by the Great Powers...
, and the commander in chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
Cadorna went to live in Padua for the war period. After the defeat of Italy in the battle of Caporetto
Kobarid
Kobarid is a town and a municipality in the upper Soča valley, western Slovenia, near the Italian border.Kobarid is known for the famous Battle of Caporetto, where the Italian retreat was documented by Ernest Hemingway in his novel A Farewell to Arms. The battle is well documented in the museum in...
in autumn 1917, the front line was situated on the river Piave. This was just 50–60 km from Padua, and the city was now in range from the Austrian artillery. However the Italian military
Military of Italy
The Italian armed forces are the military of Italy, they are under the command of the Italian Supreme Council of Defence, presided over by the President of the Italian Republic. The total number of active military personnel is 293,202...
command did not withdraw. The city was bombed several times (about 100 civilian deaths). A memorable feat was Gabriele D'Annunzio
Gabriele D'Annunzio
Gabriele D'Annunzio or d'Annunzio was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist, and dramatist...
's flight to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
from the nearby San Pelagio Castle air field.
A year later, the danger to Padua was removed. In late October 1918, the Italian Army won the decisive battle of Vittorio Veneto
Vittorio Veneto
Vittorio Veneto is a city and comune situated in the Province of Treviso, in the region of Veneto, Italy, in the northeast of the Italian peninsula, between the Piave and the Livenza rivers.-Geography:...
(exactly a year after Caporetto), and the Austrian forces collapsed. The armistice was signed in Padua, at Villa Giusti, on 3 November 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, enlarging and growing in population. even if labor and social strife was rampant at the time.
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
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
. As in other parts of Italy, the fascist party
National Fascist Party
The National Fascist Party was an Italian political party, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of fascism...
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.
New buildings, in typical fascist architecture
Fascist architecture
Rationalist-Fascist architecture was an Italian architectural style developed during the fascism regime and in particular starting from the late 1920s. It was promoted and practiced initially by the Gruppo 7 group, whose architects included Luigi Figini, Guido Frette, Sebastiano Larco, Gino...
, 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.
Following Italy's defeat in the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
on 8 September 1943, Padua became part of the Italian Social Republic
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic was a puppet state of Nazi Germany led by the "Duce of the Nation" and "Minister of Foreign Affairs" Benito Mussolini and his Republican Fascist Party. The RSI exercised nominal sovereignty in northern Italy but was largely dependent on the Wehrmacht to maintain control...
, i.e., the puppet state
Puppet state
A puppet state is a nominal sovereign of a state who is de facto controlled by a foreign power. The term refers to a government controlled by the government of another country like a puppeteer controls the strings of a marionette...
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
Italian resistance movement
The Italian resistance is the umbrella term for the various partisan forces formed by pro-Allied Italians during World War II...
, was very active against both the new fascist rule and the Nazis. One of the main leaders was the University vice-chancellor Concetto Marchesi.
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
Andrea Mantegna
Andrea Mantegna was an Italian painter, a student of Roman archeology, and son in law of Jacopo Bellini. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with perspective, e.g., by lowering the horizon in order to create a sense of greater monumentality...
frescoes, was destroyed (considered by some art historians
History of art
The History of art refers to visual art which may be defined as any activity or product made by humans in a visual form for aesthetical or communicative purposes, expressing ideas, emotions or, in general, a worldview...
to be Italy's biggest wartime cultural loss).
The city was finally liberated by partisans and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
troops on 28 April 1945. A small Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
War Cemetery is in the west part of the city, to remember the sacrifice of these troops.
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.
Climate
Padua experiences a humid subtropical climateHumid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...
(Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Cfa) characteristic of Northern Italy.
Main sights
- The Scrovegni Chapel (Italian: Cappella degli Scrovegni) is Padua's most famous sight. It houses a remarkable cycle of frescoes completed in 1305 by GiottoGiotto di BondoneGiotto di Bondone , better known simply as Giotto, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence in the late Middle Ages...
. It was commissioned by Enrico degli ScrovegniEnrico degli ScrovegniEnrico degli Scrovegni was a Paduan nobleman who lived in the early 14th century around the time of Giotto and Dante. He was the son of Reginaldo degli Scrovegni. He may have been a member of the Calvalieri Gaudenti....
, 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 MaryMary (mother of Jesus)Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
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.
- The Palazzo della RagionePalazzo della RagioneThe Palazzo della Ragione is a Medieval town hall building in Padua, in the Veneto region of ItalyThe building, 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 81.5m, its breadth 27m, and its...
, 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 (267.39 ft), its breadth 27 m (88.58 ft), and its height 24 m (78.74 ft); the walls are covered with allegoricalAllegoryAllegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
frescoFrescoFresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
es; the building stands upon arches, and the upper storey is surrounded by an open loggia, not unlike that which surrounds the basilica of VicenzaVicenzaVicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...
. 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.
- In the Piazza dei Signori is the beautiful loggia called the Gran Guardia, (1493–1526), and close by is the Palazzo del Capitaniato, the residence of the Venetian governors, with its great door, the work of Giovanni Maria FalconettoGiovanni Maria FalconettoGiovanni Maria Falconetto was an Italian architect and artist. He designed the first fully Renaissance building in Padua, the Loggia Cornaro, a garden loggia for Alvise Cornaro built as a Roman doric arcade...
, the Veronese architect-sculptor who introduced Renaissance architectureItalian RenaissanceThe Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
to Padua and who completed the door in 1532. Falconetto was the architect of Alvise CornaroAlvise CornaroAlvise Cornaro was an Italian patron of arts, also remembered for his four books of Discorsi about the secrets to living long and well with measure and sobriety....
's garden loggia, (Loggia Cornaro), the first fully Renaissance building in Padua. Nearby, the Cathedral, remodelled in 1552 after a design of MichelangeloMichelangeloMichelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
. It contains works by Nicolò Semitecolo, Francesco BassanoFrancesco Bassano the YoungerFrancesco Bassano the Younger , also called Francesco Giambattista da Ponte or Francesco da Ponte the Younger, was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period....
and Giorgio Schiavone. The nearby Baptistry, consecrated in 1281, houses the most important frescoes cycle by Giusto de' MenabuoiGiusto de' MenabuoiGiusto de' Menabuoi was an Italian painter of the early Renaissance. He was born in Florence.In Lombardy he executed a fresco of the Last Judgement in the Abbey of Viboldone, Milan...
.
- The most famous of the Paduan churches is the Basilica di Sant'Antonio da PadovaBasilica of Saint Anthony of PaduaThe Pontifical Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica in Padua, northern Italy. Although the Basilica is visited as a place of pilgrimage by people from all over the world, it is not the titular cathedral of the city, a title belonging to the...
, 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 SansovinoJacopo SansovinoJacopo d'Antonio Sansovino was an Italian sculptor and architect, known best for his works around the Piazza San Marco in Venice. Andrea Palladio, in the Preface to his Quattro Libri was of the opinion that Sansovino's Biblioteca Marciana was the best building erected since Antiquity...
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 PisanoNicola PisanoNicola Pisano was an Italian sculptor whose work is noted for its classical Roman sculptural style. Pisano is sometimes considered to be the founder of modern sculpture.- Early life :His birth date or origins are uncertain...
. It is covered by seven cupolas, two of them pyramidal. There are also four beautiful cloisters to visit.
- DonatelloDonatelloDonato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi , also known as Donatello, was an early Renaissance Italian artist and sculptor from Florence...
's magnificent equestrian statueErasmo of NarniThis article is about the condottieri Erasmo da Narni. For Donatello's equestrian statue, see Gattamelata Erasmo of Narni , better known as "Gattamelata" , was among the most famous of the condottieri or mercenaries in the Italian Renaissance...
of the Venetian general Gattamelata (Erasmo da NarniErasmo of NarniThis article is about the condottieri Erasmo da Narni. For Donatello's equestrian statue, see Gattamelata Erasmo of Narni , better known as "Gattamelata" , was among the most famous of the condottieri or mercenaries in the Italian Renaissance...
) can be found on the piazza in front of the Basilica di Sant'Antonio da PadovaBasilica of Saint Anthony of PaduaThe Pontifical Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica in Padua, northern Italy. Although the Basilica is visited as a place of pilgrimage by people from all over the world, it is not the titular cathedral of the city, a title belonging to the...
. It was cast in 1453, and was the first full-size equestrianEquestrian sculptureAn equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin "eques", meaning "knight", deriving from "equus", meaning "horse". A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an "equine statue"...
bronze cast since antiquity. It was inspired by the Marcus Aurelius equestrian sculptureEquestrian Statue of Marcus AureliusThe Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius is an ancient Roman statue in the Campidoglio, Rome, Italy. It is made of bronze and stands 3.5 m tall. Although the emperor is mounted, it exhibits many similarities to standing statues of Augustus...
at the Capitoline HillCapitoline HillThe Capitoline Hill , between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the seven hills of Rome. It was the citadel of the earliest Romans. By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Capitolino in Italian, with the alternative Campidoglio stemming from Capitolium. The English word capitol...
in RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
- Not far from the Gattamelata statue are the St. George Oratory (13th century), with frescoes by AltichieroAltichieroAltichiero da Verona , also called Aldighieri da Zevio, was an Italian painter of the Gothic style. A follower of Giotto, Altichiero is credited with founding the Veronese school...
, and the Scuola di S. Antonio (16th century), with frescoes by TizianoTitianTiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...
(TitianTitianTiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...
).
- One of the best known symbols of Padua is the Prato della VallePrato della VallePrato della Valle is a 90,000 square meter elliptical square in Padova, Italy. It is the largest square in Italy, and one of the largest in Europe...
, a 90000 m² (107,639.1 sq yd) elliptical square. This is believed to be the biggest in Europe, after Place des QuinconcesPlace des QuinconcesThe Place des Quinconces, located in Bordeaux, France, is one of the largest city squares in Europe .It was laid out in 1820 on the site of Château Trompette, intended to prevent rebellion against the city. The guns were turned towards the center. Its current shape was adopted in 1816...
in BordeauxBordeauxBordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
. In the centre is a wide garden surrounded by a ditch, which is lined by 78 statues portraying famous citizens. It was created by Andrea Memmo in the late 18th century. Memmo once resided in the monumental 15th century Palazzo Angeli, which now houses the Museum of PrecinemaMuseum of PrecinemaThe Museum of Precinema is a museum in the Palazzo Angeli, Prato della Valle, Padua, Italy, related to the history of precinema, or precursors of film. It was created in 1998 to display the Minici Zotti Collection, in collaboration with the Comune di Padova...
.
- 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. MaximusMaximus the ConfessorMaximus the Confessor was a Christian monk, theologian, and scholar. In his early life, he was a civil servant, and an aide to the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius...
, St. Urius, St. FelicitaFelicitas of PaduaFelicitas of Padua is a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. She lived in the ninth century, and was a nun in Padua, probably at the convent of Saints Cosmas and Damian. Her relics are now in the Basilica of Saint Justina, Padua.-References:...
, St. Julianus, as well as relics of the Apostle St. Matthias and the Evangelist St. LukeLuke the EvangelistLuke the Evangelist was an Early Christian writer whom Church Fathers such as Jerome and Eusebius said was the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles...
. This is home to some art, including the Martyrdom of St. Justine by Paolo VeronesePaolo VeronesePaolo Veronese was an Italian painter of the Renaissance in Venice, famous for paintings such as The Wedding at Cana and The Feast in the House of Levi...
. The complex was founded in the 5th century on the tomb of the namesake saint, Justine of PaduaJustina of PaduaSaint Justina of Padua is a Christian saint who was said to have been martyred in 304 AD. Justina was said to have been a young woman who took private vows of chastity and was killed during the persecutions of Diocletian. She is a patron saint of Padua.Medieval histories described her as a...
.
- The Church of the EremitaniChurch of the EremitaniThe Church of the Eremitani , or Church of the Hermits, is an Augustinian church of the 13th century in Padua, northern Italy....
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 MantegnaAndrea MantegnaAndrea Mantegna was an Italian painter, a student of Roman archeology, and son in law of Jacopo Bellini. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with perspective, e.g., by lowering the horizon in order to create a sense of greater monumentality...
's frescoes. This was largely destroyed by the Allies in World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, because it was next to the Nazi headquarters. The old monastery of the church now houses the municipal art gallery.
- Santa Sofia is probably 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.
- The church of San Gaetano (1574–1586) was designed by Vincenzo ScamozziVincenzo Scamozzithumb|250px|Portrait of Vincenzo Scamozzi by [[Paolo Veronese]]Vincenzo Scamozzi was a Venetian architect and a writer on architecture, active mainly in Vicenza and Republic of Venice area in the second half of the 16th century...
, on an unusual octagonal plan. The interior, decorated with polychrome marbles, houses a precious Madonna and Child by Andrea Briosco, in Nanto stone.
- The 16th-century, baroque Padua SynagoguePadua SynagogueThe Italian Synagogue of Padua is the only synagogue still in use of the several that flourished in the university town of Padua from the Renaissance through World War II.The Italian Synagogue was built in 1584....
.
- At the centre of the historical city, the buildings of Palazzo del Bò, the centre of the University
- The City Hall, called Palazzo Moroni, the wall of which is covered by the names of the Paduan dead in the different wars of Italy and which is attached to Palazzo della Ragione;
- The Caffé Pedrocchi, built in 1831 by architect Giuseppe JappelliGiuseppe JappelliGiuseppe Jappelli was an Italian neoclassic architect and engineer who was born and died in Venice. He studied at the Clementine Academy in Bologna. In 1836–7, he traveled to France and England, an experience that would be formative on his career as a park architect. His best known work is...
in neoclassical styleNeoclassical architectureNeoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
with Egyptian influence. This is a little jewel of history and art for a café open for almost two centuries. It hosts the RisorgimentoItalian unificationItalian unification was the political and social movement that agglomerated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy in the 19th century...
museum, and the near building of the Pedrocchino ("little Pedrocchi") in neogothic styleGothic Revival architectureThe Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
.
- The city centre is surrounded by the 11 km-long city wallsDefensive wallA defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...
, built during the early 16th century, by architects that included Michele Sanmicheli. There are only a few ruins left, together with two gates, of the smaller and inner 13th century walls. There is also a castle, the Castello. Its main tower was transformed between 1767 and 1777 into an astronomical observatoryObservatoryAn observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
known as Specola. However the other buildings were used as prisons during the 19th and 20th centuries. They are now being restored.
- The Ponte San LorenzoPonte San LorenzoThe Ponte San Lorenzo is a Roman segmental arch bridge over the river Bacchiglione in Padua, Italy. Constructed between 47 and 30 BC, it is one of the very earliest segmental arched bridges in the world...
, a Roman bridgeRoman bridgeRoman bridges, built by ancient Romans, were the first large and lasting bridges built. Roman bridges were built with stone and had the arch as its basic structure....
largely underground, along with the ancient Ponte MolinoPonte Molino (Padua)The Ponte Molino is a Roman segmental arch bridge across the Bacchiglione in Padua, Italy. The span-to-rise ratio of the Late Republic bridge varies between 3.5–4.5 and 1, the ratio of clear span and pier thickness between 4–6.5 and 1....
, Ponte AltinatePonte AltinateThe Ponte Altinate is a Roman segmented arch bridge in Padua, Italy. The late Republican bridge once spanned a branch of the Brenta river whose course is today followed by the street Riviera del Ponti Romani...
, Ponte CorvoPonte Corvo (bridge)The Ponte Corvo, rarely Ponte Corbo, is a Roman segmental arch bridge across the Bacchiglione in Padua, Italy. Dating to the 1st or 2nd century AD, its three remaining arches cross a branch of the river and are today partly buried respectively walled up...
and Ponte S. Matteo
In the neighbourhood of Padua are numerous noble villas. These include:
- Villa MolinVilla MolinVilla Molin is a patrician residence at Mandria, in Ponte della Cagna, south of Padua, in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It was designed for Nicolò Molin, a Venetian noble, by Vincenzo Scamozzi and completed in 1597. It faces Mandriola, on the opposite side of the Canale di Battaglia...
, in the Mandria fraction, designed by Vincenzo ScamozziVincenzo Scamozzithumb|250px|Portrait of Vincenzo Scamozzi by [[Paolo Veronese]]Vincenzo Scamozzi was a Venetian architect and a writer on architecture, active mainly in Vicenza and Republic of Venice area in the second half of the 16th century...
in 1597. - Villa Mandiriola, (17th century), at AlbignasegoAlbignasegoAlbignasego is a comune in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about 35 km west of Venice and about 7 km south of Padua...
- Villa Pacchierotti-Trieste (17th century), at Limena
- Villa Cittadella-Vigodarzere (19th century), at Saonara
- Villa Selvatico da Porto (15th-18th century), at VigonzaVigonzaVigonza is a comune in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about 25 km west of Venice and about 10 km northeast of Padua...
- Villa Loredan, at Sant'Urbano.
- Villa ContariniVilla ContariniVilla Contarini is a patrician villa veneta in Piazzola sul Brenta, province of Padova, northern Italy. The villa is in Baroque style and is backed by a 40 ha park with lakes and alleys....
, at Piazzola sul BrentaPiazzola sul BrentaPiazzola sul Brenta is a comune in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about 45 km west of Venice and about 15 km northwest of Padua.-Main sights:*Villa Contarini, begun by Andrea Palladio...
, built in 1546 by PalladioAndrea PalladioAndrea Palladio was an architect active in the Republic of Venice. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily by Vitruvius, is widely considered the most influential individual in the history of Western architecture...
and enlarged in the following centuries, is the most important.
Culture
Padua has long been famous for its universityUniversity of Padua
The University of Padua is a premier Italian university located in the city of Padua, Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 as a school of law and was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe. It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second...
, 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 Bembo
Pietro Bembo
Pietro Bembo was an Italian scholar, poet, literary theorist, and cardinal. He was an influential figure in the development of the Italian language, specifically Tuscan, as a literary medium, and his writings assisted in the 16th-century revival of interest in the works of Petrarch...
, Sperone Speroni
Sperone Speroni
Sperone Speroni degli Alvarotti was an Italian Renaissance humanist, scholar and dramatist. He was one of the central members of Padua's literary academy Accademia degli Infiammati and wrote on both moral and literary matters.-Biography:...
, the anatomist Vesalius, Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance astronomer and the first person to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe....
, Fallopius
Gabriele Falloppio
Gabriele Falloppio , often known by his Latin name Fallopius, was one of the most important anatomists and physicians of the sixteenth century....
, Fabrizio d'Acquapendente, Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei , was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism...
, Pietro Pomponazzi
Pietro Pomponazzi
Pietro Pomponazzi was an Italian philosopher. He is sometimes known by his Latin name, Petrus Pomponatius.-Biography:...
, Reginald, later Cardinal Pole, Scaliger
Joseph Justus Scaliger
Joseph Justus Scaliger was a French religious leader and scholar, known for expanding the notion of classical history from Greek and Ancient Roman history to include Persian, Babylonian, Jewish and Ancient Egyptian history.-Early life:He was born at Agen, the tenth child and third son of Italian...
, Tasso
Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso was an Italian poet of the 16th century, best known for his poem La Gerusalemme liberata , in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between Christians and Muslims at the end of the First Crusade, during the siege of Jerusalem...
and Sobieski
Sobieski
Sobieski is a Polish noble family name, and may refer to:-People:...
.
It is also where, in 1678, Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia became the first woman in the world to graduate.
The university hosts the oldest anatomy theatre
Anatomical theatre
An anatomical theatre was an institution used in teaching anatomy at early modern universities.The theatre was usually a room of roughly amphitheatrical shape, in the centre of which would stand the table on which the dissections of human or animal bodies took place...
, built in 1594.
The university also hosts the oldest botanical garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
(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.
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, such as Giotto, Fra Filippo Lippi
Filippo Lippi
Fra' Filippo Lippi , also called Lippo Lippi, was an Italian painter of the Italian Quattrocento .-Biography and works:...
and Donatello
Donatello
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi , also known as Donatello, was an early Renaissance Italian artist and sculptor from Florence...
; and for native art there was the school of Francesco Squarcione
Francesco Squarcione
Francesco Squarcione was an Italian artist from Padua. His pupils included Andrea Mantegna , Cosimo Tura and Carlo Crivelli...
, whence issued the great Mantegna
Andrea Mantegna
Andrea Mantegna was an Italian painter, a student of Roman archeology, and son in law of Jacopo Bellini. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with perspective, e.g., by lowering the horizon in order to create a sense of greater monumentality...
.
Padua is also the birth place of the famous architect Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio was an architect active in the Republic of Venice. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily by Vitruvius, is widely considered the most influential individual in the history of Western architecture...
, whose 16th century "ville" (country-houses) in the area of Padua, Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...
and Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...
are among the most beautiful of Italy and they were often copied during the 18th and 19th centuries; and of Giovanni Battista Belzoni
Giovanni Battista Belzoni
Giovanni Battista Belzoni , sometimes known as The Great Belzoni, was a prolific Venetian explorer of Egyptian antiquities.-Early life:...
, adventure-man, engineer and egyptologist.
The famous sculptor Antonio Canova
Antonio Canova
Antonio Canova was an Italian sculptor from the Republic of Venice who became famous for his marble sculptures that delicately rendered nude flesh...
produced his first work in Padua, one of which is among the statues of Prato della Valle (presently a copy is displayed in the open air, while the original is in the Musei Civici, Civic Museums).
One the most relevant places in the life of the city has certainly been The Antonianum. Settled among Prato della Valle, the Saint Anthony
Anthony of Padua
Anthony of Padua or Anthony of Lisbon, O.F.M., was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. Though he died in Padua, Italy, he was born to a wealthy family in Lisbon, Portugal, which is where he was raised...
church and the Botanic Garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
it was built in 1897 by the Jesuit fathers and kept alive until 2002. During World War II, under the leadership of P. Messori Roncaglia SJ, it became the center of the resistance movement against the Nazis. Indeed, it briefly survived P. Messori's death and was sold by the Jesuits in 2004. Some sites are trying to collect what can still be found of the college: (1) a non-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.
Demographics
In 2007, there were 210,301 people residing in Padua, located in the province of Padua, VenetoVeneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
, of whom 47.1% were male and 52.9% were female. Minors (children ages 18 and younger) totalled 14.87% of the population compared to pensioners who number 23.72%. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06% (minors) and 19.94% (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%, while Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
as a whole grew by 3.85%. The current birth rate
Birth rate
Crude birth rate is the nativity or childbirths per 1,000 people per year . Another word used interchangeably with "birth rate" is "natality". When the crude birth rate is subtracted from the crude death rate, it reveals the rate of natural increase...
of Padua is 8.49 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births.
As of 2006, 90.66% of the population was Italian. The largest immigrant group comes from other Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an nations (the largest being Romanians
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
, Moldovans
Moldovans
Moldovans or Moldavians are the largest population group of Moldova...
, and Albanians
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
): 5.14%, sub-saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
1.08%, and East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
: 1.04%. The city is predominantly Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, but due to immigration now has some Orthodox Christian
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
, Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
and Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
followers.
Consulates
In Padua are located the consulates of: CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
. The South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n consulate is to be opened soon.
Economy
The industrial area of Padova was created in 1946, in the eastern part of the city; now it is one of the biggest industrial zones in Europe, having an area of 11 million sqm. Here there are the main offices of 1300 industries employing 50,000 people. From each part of Europe goods arrive in Padua, where they are sent all over the world, especially to Asia. In the industrial zone there are two train stationTrain station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
s, one fluvial port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
, three truck terminals, two highway exits and a lot of connected services, hotels, post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
s and directional centres.
By car
By carAutomobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
, there are 3 motorways (autostrade in Italian): A4 Brescia-Padova, connecting it to Verona (then to Brenner Pass
Brenner Pass
- Roadways :The motorway E45 leading from Innsbruck via Bolzano to Verona and Modena uses this pass, and is one of the most important north-south connections in Europe...
, Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
and Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
) and Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
(then Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
); A4 Padova-Venezia, to Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
then Belluno
Belluno
Belluno , is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about 100 kilometres north of Venice, Belluno is the capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomiti's region. With its roughly 37,000 inhabitants, it the largest populated area...
(for Dolomites
Dolomites
The Dolomites are a mountain range located in north-eastern Italy. It is a part of Southern Limestone Alps and extends from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley in the east. The northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley and the Sugana Valley...
holiday resorts like Cortina
Cortina d'Ampezzo
Cortina d'Ampezzo is a town and comune in the southern Alps located in Veneto, a region in Northern Italy. Located in the heart of the Dolomites in an alpine valley, it is a popular winter sport resort known for its ski-ranges, scenery, accommodations, shops and après-ski scene...
) Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
and Tarvisio
Tarvisio
Tarvisio is a town in the Province of Udine, in the northeastern part of the autonomous Friuli–Venezia Giulia region in Italy...
(for Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
); A13 Bologna-Padova, to Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
and Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
(then Central
Central Italy
Central Italy is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics , a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency...
and South Italy). You have to pay a toll to use most of the Italian motorways. Roads connect Padua with all the large and small centers of the region. A freeway
Tangenziale di Padova
The GRAP is the orbital motorway surrounding Padua, northern Italy. It is also called Tangenziale di Padova.Usually, it consists of 2 lanes and 1 emergency lane for a dual carriageways...
with more than 20 exits surrounds the city, connecting districts and the small towns of the surrounding region.
By train
Padua has two train stations opened to the passenger service, named after the city. The station has 11 platforms and sometimes is incorrectly referred to as "Padova Centrale"; it is one of the biggest stations in Italy. More than 450 trains per day leave Padova. The station is used by over 20 million passengers per year. Other train stations are Padova Ponte di Brenta (soon to be closed), Padova San Lazzaro (planned), Padova Campo di Marte, with no passenger service once used as a freight station which could become one of the stations of the "Servizio Ferroviario Metropolitano Regionale". From Padova, high speed trainHigh-speed rail
High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
s connect to Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
and Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
; one can reach Milan in 1h and 51 min, Rome in 3 hours and 20 min and Venice in 20 min.
The station was opened in 1842 when the service started on the first part of the Venice-Milan line (the "Imperial Regia Ferrovia Ferdinandea") built from Padua to Marghera through Mestre. Porta Marghera is a major port of the Venetian area.
Railways enthusiasts can visit the Signal Box A (Cabina A), preserved by the "Società Veneta Ferrovie" (a society named after the former public works and railway company, based in "Piazza Eremitani" in Padua) association.
By plane
Padua is relatively close to airports at VeniceVenice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
, Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...
and Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
. The Padua airport, the "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 Center
Area Control Center
In air traffic control, an Area Control Center , also known as a Center, is a facility responsible for controlling instrument flight rules aircraft en route in a particular volume of airspace at high altitudes between airport approaches and departures...
s.
Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, approximately 50 km away, is the nearest seaport.
Public transport
Urban public transportPublic transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
includes public bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
es together with a new Translohr
Translohr
Translohr is a guided bus system manufactured by Lohr Industrie of France. It is used in Clermont-Ferrand, Tianjin, Padua and in the mainland Mestre district of Venice in Italy. Translohr runs on rubber tires and is guided by a single central rail....
guided tramway (connecting Albignasego, in the south of Padua, with the Fornace, in the north of the city, thanks to the new line built in 2009) and private taxis
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
. There's also a CitySightseeing tour Hop on Hop Off.
The city center is partly closed to vehicles, except for residents and permitted vehicles. There are some car parks
Parking lot
A parking lot , also known as car lot, is a cleared area that is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface....
surrounding the district. In this area, as well, there are some streets and squares restricted to pedestrian and bicycle use only.
Padua has approximately 40 bus lines, which are served by new buses, (purchased in 2008-9), with a television that displays the route line, 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
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
and controlled by GPS
Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...
.
The Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
Region is building a regional rail line (S-Bahn
S-Bahn
S-Bahn refers to an often combined city center and suburban railway system metro in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark...
-like system) around the city with 15 new stations. Its name will be SFMR and it will reach the province of Venice
Province of Venice
The Province of Venice is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Venice.It has an area of 2,467 km², and a total population of 829,418 . There are 44 comuni in the province . As of 2005, the main comuni by population are:-External links:* * : photos of...
.
Sport
Padua is the home of Calcio PadovaCalcio Padova
Calcio Padova is an Italian football club, based in Padua, Veneto. The club was founded in 1910. Padova is playing in Serie B, having last been in Serie A in 1996...
, a football team that plays in Italy's Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
, and who played 16 Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
championships (last 2 in 1995 and 1996, but the previous 14 between 1929 and 1962); the Petrarca Padova rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
team, winner of 12 national championships (all between 1970 and 2011) and 2 national cups, and now plays in the Super 10
Super 10 (Italian premiership)
The withdrawal of Viadana and Benetton Treviso from the league has been compounded by club mergers. Rugby Viadana, Gran Parma and Colorno have merged to form GranDucato Rugby. Overmach Parma and Noceto have merged to form Crociati, both new clubs to be based in Parma. These changes created 2...
league; and the Pallavolo Padova volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
club, once called Petrarca Padova as well, which plays in the Italian second division (A2) and who won a CEV cup
Challenge Cup (volleyball)
The Challenge Cup is an official competition for men's Volleyball clubs of Europe and takes place every year. It was started in the 1980/81 season under the name CEV Cup. In 2007 it was renamed to Challenge Cup.-CEV Cup:-Challenge Cup:...
in 1994. Basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
(Padua has been for several years home of the famous Giro del Veneto
Giro del Veneto
The Giro del Veneto is a semi classic European bicycle race held in the region of Veneto, Italy. The race is a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour, meaning a one-day race that is not the hardest in difficulty, but harder than most.-Winners:...
), rowing
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
(two teams among the best ones in Italy, Canottieri Padova and Padova Canottaggio), horseback-riding
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
and swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
are popular sports too.
The venues of these teams are: Stadio Euganeo
Stadio Euganeo
Stadio Euganeo is a football stadium in Padua, Italy. It replaced the old and historical Appiani stadium.Since 1994 it is the home of Calcio Padova, which now plays in Serie B...
for football and athletic, about 32,000 seats; Stadio Plebiscito
Stadio Plebiscito
Stadio Plebiscito is a multi-use stadium in Padua, Italy. The stadium holds 9,600 all-covered seats.It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches as the home of Petrarca Padova; but by 2010/'11 season will be used also for the home matches of the second football team of the city, San Paolo...
for rugby union, about 9,000 seats; Palazzetto dello Sport San Lazzaro for volleyball and basketball, about 5,000 seats, and has just been restored; Ippodromo Breda - Le Padovanelle for horse races
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
. The old and glorious Stadio Appiani, which hosted up to 21,000 people, presently reduced to 10,000 for security reasons twenty years ago, and near to Prato della Valle in the city central area, is almost abandoned and is to be restored. A small ice stadium for skating
Ice skating
Ice skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and...
and hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
is about to be completed, with about 1,000 seats.
The F1
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
racing driver
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
Riccardo Patrese
Riccardo Patrese
Riccardo Gabriele Patrese is an Italian former racing driver, who raced in Formula One from to .He became the first Formula One driver to achieve 200 Grand Prix starts when he appeared at the 1990 British Grand Prix, and the first to achieve 250 starts at the 1993 German Grand Prix...
(runner-up 1992, 3rd place in 1989 and 1991; held the world record for having started the most Formula One races, beaten by Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Gonçalves "Rubinho" Barrichello is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He is currently racing for Williams F1.Barrichello has scored the seventh highest points total in Formula One history. Barrichello drove for Ferrari from to , as Michael Schumacher's teammate, enjoying considerable...
during the 2008 season) was born and lives in Padova; the racing driver Alex Zanardi
Alex Zanardi
Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi is an Italian racing driver and paracyclist.He won two CART championship titles in North America during the late 1990s. He also had a less successful career as a Formula One driver...
also lives in Padova.
The Bergamasco brothers were also born in Padova, as well as Bortolami
Bortolami
Bortolami is an Italian surname. Notable persons with the surname include:*Gianluca Bortolami , Italian road cyclist*Marco Bortolami , Italian rugby player...
, Marcato
Marcato
Marcato is a musical instruction indicating a note, chord, or passage is to be played louder or more forcefully than surrounding music. The instruction may involve the word marcato itself written above or below the staff or it may take the form of an accent mark, ^ , an open vertical wedge...
and Leonardo Ghiraldini
Leonardo Ghiraldini
Leonardo Ghiraldini is an Italian rugby union player for Benetton Rugby Treviso in the RaboDirect Pro12.Ghiraldini's position of choice is at Hooker.-Underage & 'A' Level:...
, of the Italian Rugby national team. All of them started their careers in Petrarca Padova.
Famous footballers from Padua were Francesco Toldo, who was born here, and Alessandro Del Piero
Alessandro Del Piero
Alessandro Del Piero Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Serie A club Juventus, of which he is also club captain....
, who started his professional career in the Calcio Padova
Calcio Padova
Calcio Padova is an Italian football club, based in Padua, Veneto. The club was founded in 1910. Padova is playing in Serie B, having last been in Serie A in 1996...
.
Twin towns — Sister cities
Padua is twinned with:| Nancy, France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... , since 1964 Freiburg, Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... , since 1967 Boston Boston Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had... , USA, since 1983 |
Handan Handan Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwestern part of Hebei Province of China.- History :Handan was the capital of the State of Zhao during the Warring States period , after the capital moved from Zhongmu. The city was conquered by the State of Qin after the virtual annexation of... , China People's Republic of China China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres... , since 1988 Iaşi Iasi Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life... , Romania Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea... , since 1995 Beira Beira, Mozambique Beira is the second largest city in Mozambique. It lies in the central region of the country in Sofala Province, where the Pungue River meets the Indian Ocean. Beira had a population of 412,588 in 1997, which grew to an estimated 546,000 in 2006... , Mozambique Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest... , since 1995 |
Coimbra Coimbra Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the... , Portugal Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the... , since 1998 Cagliari Cagliari Cagliari is the capital of the island of Sardinia, a region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name Casteddu literally means castle. It has about 156,000 inhabitants, or about 480,000 including the outlying townships : Elmas, Assemini, Capoterra, Selargius, Sestu, Monserrato, Quartucciu, Quartu... , Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... , since 2002 Zadar Zadar Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens... , Croatia Croatia Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ... , since 2003 |
List of notable residents
- Stefano LandiStefano LandiStefano Landi was an Italian composer and teacher of the early Baroque Roman School. He was an influential early composer of opera, and wrote the earliest opera on a historical subject: Sant'Alessio .-Biography:Landi was born in Rome, the capital of the Papal States.In 1595 he joined the Collegio...
(1586-1639). Early music composer, known for songs such as T'amai gran tempo, Augelin and Pascagla della vita. - Giovanni Battista MorgagniGiovanni Battista MorgagniGiovanni Battista Morgagni was an Italian anatomist, celebrated as the father of modern anatomical pathology.-Education:...
(1682–1771) anatomist, father of modern anatomical pathologyAnatomical pathologyAnatomical pathology or Anatomic pathology is a medical specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on the gross, microscopic, chemical, immunologic and molecular examination of organs, tissues, and whole bodies... - Riccardo PatreseRiccardo PatreseRiccardo Gabriele Patrese is an Italian former racing driver, who raced in Formula One from to .He became the first Formula One driver to achieve 200 Grand Prix starts when he appeared at the 1990 British Grand Prix, and the first to achieve 250 starts at the 1993 German Grand Prix...
, racing car driver - Galileo GalileiGalileo GalileiGalileo Galilei , was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism...
(1564-1642) physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher
See also
- Paduan metropolitan areaPaduan metropolitan areaThe Paduan metropolitan area is the urban agglomeration of the city of Padua in Veneto, Italy.It has been costituted as Metropolitan conference of Padua...
- Province of PaduaProvince of PaduaThe Province of Padua is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Padua.-History and territory:...
- Roman Catholic Diocese of PaduaRoman Catholic Diocese of PaduaThe Roman Catholic Diocese of Padua is a see of the Catholic Church in the Veneto, northern Italy. It was erected in the 3rd century, and is a suffragan of the Patriarchate of Venice. The current Bishop of Padova is Antonio Mattiazzo....
- Tangenziale di PadovaTangenziale di PadovaThe GRAP is the orbital motorway surrounding Padua, northern Italy. It is also called Tangenziale di Padova.Usually, it consists of 2 lanes and 1 emergency lane for a dual carriageways...
- Via Anelli WallVia Anelli WallThe Via Anelli Wall was a three-metre-high wall built of steel, with a length of eighty four metres, which encircled the Via Anelli quarter of Padua, northern Italy. It was built in 2006 and torn down in 2007....
External links
- City of Padua Official Website
- Tram di Padova - Public Tram
- The Basilica of St Anthony in Padua
- Photographs of Padua
- University Of Padova
- Some traditions regarding the old Anatomy Theatre of Padua University
- University Botanical Garden
- http://www.sitiunesco.it/index.phtml?id=657Padova as a city protected by UNESCOUNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
] - Map of Padua
- Wikitravel Entry on Padua
- Video Introduction to Padua includes Scrovegni Chapel, Il Santo, and Prato della Valle
- Società Veneta Ferrovie website, reporting the openings of the preserved "A" signal box)
- City Guide of Padua